<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Looking Forward by Reyemile</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22379638">Looking Forward</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyemile/pseuds/Reyemile'>Reyemile</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Seeing One Another [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:35:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22379638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyemile/pseuds/Reyemile</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lila's actions have had permanent consequences, and Marinette and Kagami have to deal with them. The final chapter of Seeing One Another.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Kagami Tsurugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Seeing One Another [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511747</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>193</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>637</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to the final section of Seeing One Another! If you just clicked on this story in your AO3 feed, you should click on the series and start at point 1, Blind Days. If you've been reading up to this point, thank you so much for following my story, and I sincerely hope you continue enjoying it up to its conclusion. Here we go!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“The bright flashes may have overstimulated nerves, leading to a chain reaction…”</p><p> </p><p>“...possible that stress is the culprit. Cortisol can have deleterious effects on all parts of the body…”</p><p> </p><p>“...but we can’t confirm what chemicals might be responsible until the bloodwork comes back…”</p><p> </p><p>“...Have you spoken with Ladybug? If we weren’t in Paris I’d be embarrassed to say this, but magic makes more sense than any medical explanation I could concoct.”</p><p> </p><p>Ladybug had tried her best, of course, but the Miraculous Cure had failed. Nevertheless, Kagami noted that doctor’s name for future reference. She was the only specialist with the courage to admit that she was lost. </p><p> </p><p>The drive back from the hospital in Versaille was traffic-free on a mid-day Sunday. Normally, specialists would not be available on weekends. Tomoe Tsurugi’s great wealth solved that problem, though in Kagami’s opinion the effort was wasteful. They both had already known what the answer would be.</p><p> </p><p>Tomoe had barely said two words to Kagami in the 36 hours since she’d made her fateful decision. Kagami had been likewise silent for many reasons, chief among them fear of her mother’s judgment. </p><p> </p><p>Thus, Kagami was greatly surprised when Tomoe began to cry.</p><p> </p><p>“Mother?” she said.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m s-sorry, Kagami-chan,” said Tomoe in their native Japanese. “Please forgive your old, foolish mother for failing to protect you.”</p><p> </p><p>It had been five years since Kagami had last heard her mother weep. Even on the anniversary of Toshiro Tsurugi’s death, tears had dripped down her face in total silence. Kagami was at a loss, but did her best to be comforting. “We both knew this day was coming, mother. It is sooner than expected, yes, but you’ve done everything in your power to prepare me for this outcome.”</p><p> </p><p>Tomoe sniffled into cloth. “You know that is not true, daughter. I chose to withhold the secrets that would have prepared you for this, in the vain hope of shielding you. I chose wrongly.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am young, reckless, and immature.” Kagami ran her fingers over the cool metal of her cane, collapsed in her lap. “I do not blame you for finding me unworthy of your secrets.”</p><p> </p><p>Tomoe’s hand found Kagami’s wrist easily, despite their mutual darkness. “You have <em> always </em>been worthy, my daughter. And if my precautions made you doubt your worth, then my sorrow is compounded.”</p><p> </p><p>“A wise woman once told me,” Kagami intoned, “that sorrow bends us…”</p><p> </p><p>Tomoe finished for her. “...but we do not break. A wise woman indeed.”</p><p> </p><p>“You wish you had prepared me, mother?” Kagami placed her palm on the back of her mother’s hand. “Then prepare me. What can I expect? What will I be capable of, once I have trained in your secrets?”</p><p> </p><p>“The pain and the dizziness lessen, but never truly disappear.” Tomoe was once again clinical. Even at her weakest, emotion could only best her temporarily. “In twenty minute stretches and with rest in between, I can fight four battles in a day. If I push myself, I can maintain <em> zanshin </em>for forty-five minutes consecutively, but the strain leaves me crippled for days afterward.” </p><p> </p><p>“That is a significant amount of functionality.”</p><p> </p><p>“That is twenty-three hours in a day of infirmity. We can cope with it, we can work around it, but no magic will correct the fact that we are <em> diminished. </em>” Tomoe’s phrasing was uncharacteristic. As an advocate for the blind community, she firmly rejected the language of helplessness. Indeed, she’d made Kagami run laps for expressing similar sentiment. Her next line, however, cast a light upon the reason for her self-defeat. “You need not invent excuses to soften the sting of my failure, my daughter. I will not delude myself by claiming we’ve made a fair tradeoff.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami already felt the loss of her sight in her daily life. Simple things that she hadn’t tried blind, such as showering, took immense effort and time to do safely. She further mourned never seeing Niagara Falls and the Aurora; while she refused to cry over them, her mind inexorably returned to her too-long-deferred dreams whenever she let it idle. As such, she had not yet fully weighed the balance of gain and loss. </p><p> </p><p>She <em> had </em> gained—that much was sure. <em> Zanshin </em> was much more than a painful substitute for sight.  Somehow, she had detected the invisible presence of an akuma, and she had struck it. If she could cultivate those techniques...</p><p> </p><p>But even if she couldn’t, she had spent the past two years expecting to go blind with no recompense whatsoever. To get something in return, however small—to have a few minutes relief from the darkness every day—was an unexpected blessing from which Kagami could draw joy. </p><p> </p><p>Joy that she very much needed. “I reject your version of events,” Kagami said to her guilty parent. “In my opinion, the blame lies first with Hawk Moth and his lackeys, second with our ancient ancestors, and lastly with myself. But if you must accept responsibility, then make it up to me. Train me to fight as you do.”</p><p> </p><p>“So you can chase more demons?” And just like that, Tomoe was back to her old self. It was almost enough to make Kagami smile. </p><p> </p><p>“So I can live my life to the fullest of my capabilities,” Kagami answered. She left unsaid the fact that living life to the fullest would assuredly include demon-hunting. </p><p> </p><p>“We shall see,” said Tomoe. The rest of the ride, they shared in silence.</p><p> </p><p>-----</p><p> </p><p>Marinette was waiting for her in the entryway.</p><p> </p><p>“May I kiss you?” said Marinette, announcing her presence and her care simultaneously.</p><p> </p><p>“Always.” Kagami closed her eyes, not that it did anything, and let their lips join. One day the act might become mundane, but for now, each kiss was as magical as the first. </p><p> </p><p>A young woman cleared her throat. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, Tiffany?” Kagami said to her new personal assistant. </p><p> </p><p>“Mlle. Tsurugi, I’ve received confirmation for both of your afternoon appointments. The two of you have approximately three hours together before your first guest arrives. Sandwiches and soft drinks are waiting for you in the dining room.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Tiffany.” Kagami held out her arm. Marinette took it. Three steps later, Kagami realized the aide was following them. She stopped. “I said, thank you, Tiffany.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m under strict instructions from your mother that I am not to, and I quote, ‘wander off,’ unless specifically dismissed.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re dismissed,” Kagami said, annoyed. The strict obedience wasn’t the problem—Tiffany was new and learning the family dynamic, so it was logical for her to toe the line. However, the young woman’s words highlighted the lie of her official title. Formally, she was Kagami’s ‘personal’ aide, but she was Tomoe’s woman through and through.</p><p> </p><p>“In that case, I’ll take my own lunch break in the kitchen. I’ve persuaded your mother not to demand constant chaperoning, but please leave the doors open at all times. I’ll be available at your pleasure.” And with that, she walked away on noisy heels.</p><p> </p><p>“So weird…” Marinette said quietly of the departing assistant. But then she reattached herself to Kagami. “Come on, let’s eat. I’ll help. We’re coming up to the door—”</p><p> </p><p>“I know my own house, Marinette,” Kagami sighed. She wouldn’t ever be running down the halls again, but she could walk down a hall without risk. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay,” Marinette said. They took twenty-odd steps together, past the hall and down the length of the manor’s long ebony table. “We’re here. Don’t move!” Marinette loosened her grip and stepped away. Kagami heard the scrape of a chair’s legs on the wooden floor. Then Marinette returned. “Come on, I’ll sit you down.” She slid her hands under Kagami’s armpits from behind, as if to lower her into the seat herself.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Unacceptable. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette.” Kagami bit out her name sharply. “I do not need your help to <em> sit. </em> ” She stepped forward, away from the overbearing <em> helpfulness </em> of her girlfriend. Unfortunately, Marinette had pulled the chair out of place. Kagami’s knee slammed into it with a painful <em> crack.  </em></p><p> </p><p>“Oh no!” Marinette was instantly at Kagami’s side once more, and this time Kagami didn’t fight back as she was guided into her chair. “Are you okay?” </p><p> </p><p>Kagami let her body tell her the answer. The pain was already dulling to a moderate ache, and nothing objected when she moved her leg this way and that. “More startled than anything. It likely won’t even bruise.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good, good, I was so worried,” Marinette said quickly. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami turned her face towards Marinette’s voice and pursed her lips. Marinette responded with a gentle peck. Kagami tasted Marinette’s lip gloss—vanilla, today—and let the flavor linger to counteract the stress. “There is nothing for you to worry about, my love. I do not lord my wealth over others, but money has its advantages. My needs will be seen to. Now, let’s have lunch.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right! Lunch!” Marinette moved around the table. “Looks like there’s roast beef, caprese, and chicken? That’s a lot of food for the two of us, I hope the rest gets eaten.”</p><p> </p><p>“It will, I’m sure. The chef makes an excellent caprese. I’ll have that.” She brushed her fingers across the tabletop. “My plate?”</p><p> </p><p>“I have it!” Marinette said. “Your sandwich is served. Wait—do you need it sliced—”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t need it sliced!” Kagami shouted. </p><p> </p><p>Her plate clattered onto the table. </p><p> </p><p>“Ka-Kagami?” Marinette asked, weak as a mouse. </p><p> </p><p>“Marinette.” Kagami inhaled through her nose. Losing her temper was uncouth. She was better than that. “Please do not treat me like an invalid. I will ask for help when I need it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Oh, oh no, I’m so sorry. I’m just… it’s just… seeing you like this…” Marinette swallowed. “And… for me. You’re like this because of me. I can’t… it’s…” </p><p> </p><p>Kagami held her hand up, fingers spread. Marinette’s fingertips pressed against her own. Marinette was trembling, but the physical contact made it stop. “I’m making this all about me. It shouldn’t be. It’s about you, Kagami. I don’t know how I can repay you for what you gave up, for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are we alone?” Kagami asked. </p><p> </p><p>Tikki answered. “For the moment, yes. We can talk openly.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami slid her fingers between Marinette’s and clasped their hands. Her fingers were cooler than the rest of her. Funny, Kagami had never noticed. “You are precious, Marinette, but I will not claim credit I do not deserve. I blinded myself out of rash ignorance, not heroism.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette squeezed. “But you would have done it again, if you’d known.” It was a statement, not a question.</p><p> </p><p>“For Paris’s sake. Not for yours alone.”</p><p> </p><p>“But that <em> is </em> for my sake!” Marinette insisted a little too loudly, and Tikki hushed her. “I’m responsible for Paris, and if you’re saving it on my behalf, you’re doing it for me. Well, not <em> for </em>me, but to my benefit. You did my job, saved Paris when I was too weak to do it myself, and you paid for it, and it’s making me sick with regret.”</p><p> </p><p>“Regret is fruitless,” Kagami said. “The past cannot be changed. We live in the present. We march towards the future. And as for what the future holds, you are just as blind as I am.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette swallowed again. Kagami thought she could feel the faint pressure of Marinette’s pulse under her skin, but she might have been imagining it. </p><p> </p><p>“We… should eat, I guess,” Marinette said.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s early for lunch. The food will keep.” <em> I should be hungry, I skipped breakfast, but this whole interaction has ruined my appetite. </em> “Let’s adjourn to my room.” <em> And you are going there with Marinette, who you love. Let yourself relax. After 36 hours of doctors, you deserve it. </em>“I understand that you have a history of successful designs of sunglasses, and I suddenly find myself in need of a new pair.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s laughter was music to Kagami’s ears. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami made a show of picking up her cane and finding the wall. Tapping a path ahead of her, she left for the main room and the stairs. “Doo Ri is stopping by briefly at 1400. I’d be happy to introduce you to her, but I would hope to have the discussion of my blindness in private with her, if that’s acceptable.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” said Marinette, close behind her. Too close. Hovering. “Stairs ahead, are you—”<br/><br/></p><p>“I know my own house, Marinette,” Kagami repeated with a sigh. She held onto the railing and took her time ascending. She could feel Marinette standing inches behind her, tensed to catch her as if she might fall at any moment. </p><p> </p><p>“Would… would you read to me again?” Marinette asked. </p><p> </p><p>The waves of Kagami’s anger receded back into the ocean. Marinette was so sweet, so <em> human </em> , and her smothering overreaction would pass in time. “ <em> Les Trois Mousquetaires?” </em></p><p> </p><p>“Or anything else you want,” the sweet girl answered. “We can finish Dumas together any time, Kagami. We’ve got long lives ahead of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami smiled, even when Marinette put an unnecessary supporting hand on her back to steady an awkward step off the final stair. “I look forward to it. Together.”</p><p> </p><p>“Together,” Marinette repeated. “I promise you, Kagami, I’ll be here to take care of you for as long as you need me.”</p><p> </p><p>The low ebb of Kagami’s anger had been a warning. Like a tidal wave, the rage came crashing back, a crushing swell of icy blackness. “To… take care of me?” she repeated with frigid poise. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” said Marinette, missing the underlying emotion. “It’s the least I can do. I promise, I’ll take care of you for as long as you need me. Any help you require, I’ll be there for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami tapped her cane against the floor. “I do need something, actually.”</p><p> </p><p>“Name it!” Marinette eagerly replied.  </p><p> </p><p>The tip of Kagami’s cane hit the jamb to her door, and she felt for her door knob and opened it. “I need you to find someone,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>“Find… someone? I’ll do it, of course. Who?”</p><p> </p><p>“A girl,” Kagami said, with the serenity of a pond on a windless day. “A special one. An inspiration. The girl who told me I could be a warrior.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s breath hitched. “Kagami?”</p><p> </p><p>“She found out I was going blind, and despite that, she encouraged me to find a way to fight,” Kagami said. Her voice betrayed none of her roiling feelings. “I started to fall in love with that day. She was a bastion of strength. But now, when I need that strength the most, she has vanished.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami—” Marinette begged. </p><p> </p><p>“Please find that girl, Marinette. And when you do, tell her to come back to me.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami stepped inside her room and slammed the door. </p><p> </p><p>She collapsed with her back to the door, holding it shut, but Marinette didn’t try to barge in as Kagami had feared she would. She didn’t call out through the door, either. Kagami hoped that meant that Marinette understood the wrongness of her actions. </p><p> </p><p>That hope was validated by a tiny voice clearing her throat. </p><p> </p><p>“Tikki-sama?”</p><p> </p><p>“I wish you hadn’t been so harsh,” Tikki said from somewhere midair to the left, “but Marinette needed to hear that message in some form or another. I’ll talk with her, and I promise she’ll listen. Please don’t give up on her just yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Tikki-sama,” Kagami said. The kwami failed to answer, and Kagami assumed she had left.</p><p> </p><p>After a few moments she heard Marinette fleeing down the hallway. <em> She’ll be back, </em> Kagami told herself. <em> This was a wake-up, not a break-up. She’s Marinette. She’s Ladybug. This isn’t the end. She will be back, strong as ever. She has to be. She must. She— </em></p><p> </p><p>Kagami was spiralling. She needed support, and one of her bastions had faltered. So, she turned to another. A pillar of her life that offered peace, if not warmth. Certainty, if not purpose. Focus, if not love. </p><p> </p><p>The sword grip was intimately familiar to her calloused hand. </p><p> </p><p>She swung a wide arc in front of her to make sure her path was free of obstruction. Then she held the foil up in a salute and called out “<em> En garde! Prêtes? Allez! </em>" and lunged, thrusting deep in a painfully low stance.</p><p> </p><p>She stood upright and saluted again. “<em> En garde! Prêtes? Allez! </em>" </p><p> </p><p>After half an hour, her voice was raw and scratchy. She continued lunging in silence.</p><p> </p><p>After an hour, her hand began to ache and she switched sides to her left.</p><p> </p><p>After ninety minutes, her legs finally gave out from the strain. She crawled into her bed, buried her face in the pillow, and fell asleep.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout this whole process, she did not shed a single tear.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks to Cedalodon and Sheeoni for reading and feedback.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>CW: Offscreen sexual harassment</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Mlle. Tsurugi.” Tiffany’s voice carried through the wooden door. “Your guest is arriving in fifteen minutes.”</p><p> </p><p>It was early in Kagami’s blind life, so she woke up wondering why the lights were off. Then she remembered. </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Tiffany.” Kagami rubbed sleep from her eyes and tested her leg muscles. They were functional for now. True fatigue would set in tomorrow. “I haven’t eaten. Please bring me one of the sandwiches from lunch. And please check my hair.”</p><p> </p><p>“I have a sandwich with me, Mlle. Tsurugi.” </p><p> </p><p>Kagami listened to the opening door. She sat upright on her mattress and felt her shirt--her fingers detected no wrinkles. She raised her palms in the general direction of the approaching high-heeled footsteps, and was rewarded with a cool porcelain plate. She placed it on her lap and turned to the left. Tiffany sat to her right. Kagami located the sandwich by touch and had a bite. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to brush your hair now, Mlle. Tsurugi.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami chewed and swallowed. “Thank you, Tiffany. But please, call me Kagami.”</p><p> </p><p>Stiff bristles ran pleasingly over her scalp. “That would be improper at this stage of our professional relationship, Mlle. Tsurugi.”</p><p> </p><p>“As you say, Sancoeur.”</p><p> </p><p>The brush stopped mid-stroke. “I can’t ask you to call me Tiffany, but I’d prefer you address me as a mademoiselle.”</p><p> </p><p>“So you would.” Kagami nibbled and swallowed. “And I’d prefer you address me as Kagami. It’s you, not I, who insists upon a master-servant naming convention.”</p><p> </p><p>The brushing resumed with a long-suffering sigh. “As you say, Kagami.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Tiffany.” Kagami took one last bite, hardly a lunch but sufficient to quiet her rumbling stomach, and set the plate aside. She licked her lips and rubbed her cheeks, frowned because she’d never look in a mirror again, and said, “My face?”</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany tilted Kagami’s head slightly. “No crumbs.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Tiffany.” Feeling utterly helpless, Kagami let her aide go about her ministrations without further comment.</p><p> </p><p>-----</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany left and returned a few minutes later with Kagami’s guest in tow. Doo Ri spoke in flawless Japanese. “Kagami-kun. A pleasure to be in your presence, though the circumstances of my visit leave much to be desired.”</p><p> </p><p>“Likewise.” Kagami patted her mattress. Doo Ri sat. “Better this weekend than last, I suppose.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” asked the taller girl. Sitting this close, Kagami’s ears registered her voice as coming from above. </p><p> </p><p>“We mended fences when I was still sighted,” Kagami explained. “Had I reached out to you while blind, I might have misattributed our rekindled friendship to mere pity.”</p><p> </p><p>“The timing of our friendship worked out in my favor as well,” Doo Ri said, her voice sounding half-elsewhere</p><p> </p><p>Kagami’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Doo Ri lied. “I should not trouble you--”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve already expelled someone close to me for daring to show pity. Do not become the second.” Kagami’s harsh reproach hung in the air for a few seconds. She instantly regretted it. With what kindness she could, she added, “I’m blind, not deaf. Listening is one of the few things I can do unhindered.”</p><p> </p><p>Doo Ri’s squirming shook the mattress. “Thank you for warning me about spiders,” she said.</p><p> </p><p><em> Angelique. </em>“Are you harmed?” </p><p> </p><p>“No, my knuckles did not bruise,” Doo Ri answered, deadpan. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami smiled at the wry humor. “Perhaps that will redirect her affections to where they are wanted.” She moved her hand in Doo Ri’s direction, then thought better of it. “Is physical contact acceptable?”</p><p> </p><p>“I am not traumatized, if that is what you are asking,” Doo Ri said. “Unsettled. But not scarred.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami patted Doo Ri’s knee. “It’s small consolation, but your weekend could have gone worse.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry you can’t see me smiling,” Doo Ri said. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami was sorry too, but she let that thought pass by. Instead, she imagined her mother’s reaction to Kagami in a similar plight. “Has Mme. Han been understanding?”</p><p> </p><p>“Publicly, yes.” Doo Ri’s sardonic tone took a turn for the dark. “I must have acted in self-defense. Anything to save face. Privately, she had words about my excessive use of force.”</p><p> </p><p>“Excessive? From my impressions, it was entirely deserved.”</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps if I had bloodied her nose,” Doo Ri said. “But with her aiming eye swollen shut, she cannot shoot at French Junior Nationals.” </p><p> </p><p>With a frown, Kagami said, “Anquetil Academy is unforgiving of those who interfere with competition.”</p><p> </p><p>“It is also unforgiving of sexual harassment--at least, when they cannot dismiss it as unproven. Thanks to your advanced warning, I knew better than to let Angelique ‘teach’ me at a private lane. Mother’s lawyers are gathering witness statements as we speak. I’m confident in the outcome of Monday’s academic tribunal.”</p><p> </p><p>“I pray you are correct.” Kagami tried to guess, from the position of Doo Ri’s knee and the movement of the mattress, what Doo Ri’s body language was saying. She came up blank. “My own tribunal is on the same day. The academy has been… recalcitrant… about certain accommodations to my education. Among other things, they consider it disruptive to have an artificial intelligence as an academic assistant, despite proven success elsewhere.”</p><p> </p><p>“And so we come to the reason you invited me,” quipped Doo Ri. “Shall I begin transcribing your notes?”</p><p> </p><p>Markov, or a friend from his community, could likely have comprehended Kagami’s Japanese shorthand. But without his assistance, it was incumbent upon Kagami’s classmate to transfer them to a digital format from which an automated voice could read. “They’re on the desk.”</p><p> </p><p>Doo Ri got up. Kagami heard the whirring of her laptop’s hard drive as she powered it up. Kagami stood, following the wall of her room to her bookshelf. Three of the shelves were stocked with works she could no longer read, but the bottom shelf was all braille. She ran her left hand over the spines to find something to pass the time.</p><p> </p><p>She drew her hand back from <em> Les Trois Mousquetaires </em>like it was fire. She’d worked herself to exhaustion to try to forget the agony of Marinette’s unintentional betrayal, to no avail. </p><p> </p><p>Eventually, Kagami settled on another Dumas work, <em> Le Comte de Monte-Cristo </em>, and returned unimpeded to her bed. Her fingertips read a tale of murder, adventure, and treachery. Doo Ri’s typing didn’t disturb her at all.</p><p> </p><p>She was twenty pages in when Doo Ri next spoke. “Kagami-kun, may I ask a personal question?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami closed the book. Like all braille, the novel outsized its sighted counterpart by a factor of ten, and the hefty tome thumped on the mattress. “I reserve the right not to answer.”</p><p> </p><p>Doo Ri’s swivel chair creaked as she turned. “Our mothers are quite similar,” she said softly. “Korean and Japanese cultures are more alike than either will admit. My mother has raised me to kill my emotions and remain stoic at all times, a fact she’s repeatedly reminded me off during my recent ordeal.”</p><p> </p><p>“Her lack of sympathy is disappointing,” Kagami replied, “but perhaps her advice is more sound than it appears. Your tribunal <em> is </em>tomorrow, and you will need to make your case.”</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps. But I am correct in my evaluation of your parental relations?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami nodded. “You are.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good. Then, as your elder, allow me to share my wisdom.”</p><p> </p><p>“Your birthday is two weeks before mine,” Kagami commented.</p><p> </p><p>“Two weeks of experience that you don’t have, and you will never catch up!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami chuckled, amused. Using the most formal honorifics Japanese allowed, she said, “It is as the incomparable Elder Han says. If the Elder would kindly grace this humble supplicant with enlightenment?”</p><p> </p><p>“Have you cried?” asked Doo Ri.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami blinked her blind eyes. “Have I… cried?”</p><p> </p><p>“I say this without pity or judgment: you have lost a part of yourself. Your life will go on, you will bend but not break, you will show your inner strength to the world. Yet you will do so having left a part of yourself behind.” Doo Ri approached Kagami. She didn’t give any warning that she was touching Kagami’s shoulder, but Kagami predicted she would make such a gesture and was not startled. “Mourning is not shameful. Catharsis is commendable. No matter what our Tiger Mothers would have us believe. So… have you cried, Kagami-chan?”</p><p> </p><p>The switch in honorifics, from the fraternal “kun” to the diminutive “chan,” was not lost on Kagami. Doo Ri had meant to communicate that she saw Kagami as a confidant as close to her as family. But all Kagami could hear was the same suffix that her relatives used to talk down to her. She was <em> not </em>a snivelling child. </p><p> </p><p>“I mourned two years ago, when I was diagnosed. I do not need to mourn again.” </p><p> </p><p>Doo Ri squeezed her shoulder and spoke without emotion. “As you say. I’ve copied over your French notes. Let me complete history. I believe you have another visitor after me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, he’ll be arriving shortly.” Then, as an olive branch, she added, “I look forward to lunches with you again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Assuming both of us are still in attendance at Anquetil, I look forward to it, too.” Doo Ri left to set about her work, typing notes into her computer until Adrien arrived.</p><p> </p><p>------</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami, young M. Agreste is with me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Tiffany. You may send him in.”</p><p> </p><p>The door opened. </p><p> </p><p>“I can’t see you waving, Adrien,” said Kagami.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, crap. Umm, hi, Kagami. And you must be Doo Ri? <em> Annyeonghaseyo! </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Annyeong, </em>Adrien Agreste. I assumed from the ads that you’d be taller,” jibed Doo Ri. Unlike her flawless Japanese, her slow French had a heavy accent.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not too disappointed, I hope?” Adrien was speaking in his ‘model’ voice, the one he used for annoying paparazzi. Kagami needed to learn the technique. “I’ve still got a few more years of growth in me--whoa!”</p><p> </p><p>The exclamation was in time with the sound of Doo Ri standing to her full 1.8 meter height. “I’m still growing, too. If shorter men disappointed me, my dating pool would dwindle to nothing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right, right.   </p><p> </p><p>“Tiffany,” Kagami said. “You may leave us. I’ll call you if I require your services.”</p><p> </p><p>“Before you go,” Adrien chimed in, “your sister says hello.”</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany huffed. “No, she doesn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien chuckled awkwardly. “Okay, yeah, she’s too busy and she’s been ill lately, but she <em> would-- </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“No, she wouldn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>More strained chuckling came from Adrien. Were she a lesser woman, Kagami would have cringed. “Well, I’m saying hello on her behalf, then?”</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany gave up. “Fine. Tell Nathalie I said ‘hello’ as well. I owe her for the referral, I guess. Kagami, I’ll be nearby.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami nodded. The sound of departing heels was already becoming normal to her. </p><p> </p><p>“Kagami-kun, my mother will be waiting for me,” said Doo Ri. She stuck to French for Adrien’s benefit. “Your notes are in your inbox. I’ll be off. Unless M. Agreste would like to join me in the broom closet?”</p><p> </p><p>If Kagami had been drinking, she would have spat it out. From the choking sounds Adrien was making, he was in a similar place. “Gack! Thanks--thanks for the offer, Doo Ri, but I’m dealing with some relationship stuff right now and I’m not ready for a rebound.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not looking for a relationship,” she said. “I’m looking for a… palate cleanser. Someone to wipe a bad taste out of my mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” Adrien seemed to grasp the implications of the comment, a pleasant relief from his ordinary obliviousness. Kagami would not have wanted to explain the situation to him. “I’m very sorry to hear that. I wish I could help, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Say no more. I’d be a terrible…” she switched back to Japanese. “Hypocrite?” Kagami translated for her, and she continued. “A terrible hypocrite to push after you’ve said ‘no.’ A pleasure to meet you, Adrien. Kagami has my contact information if you change your mind. Goodbye, Kagami!”</p><p> </p><p>“See you soon,” Kagami answered. </p><p> </p><p>There was a hush. Neither of her friends pointed out that no, Kagami would not see her. </p><p> </p><p>Once Doo Ri had left, Adrien commented, “Marinette still needs her space from me, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami felt queasy, and it had nothing to do with the meals she’d skipped. “That is not why she’s absent. We are having a… dispute.”</p><p> </p><p>“That <em> sucks. </em>” Kagami listened to Adrien walking to her desk and taking Doo Ri’s seat. “I’m shocked, actually. She’s one of the most helpful, selfless people I know. I figured she’d be all over you trying to help.”</p><p> </p><p>“Precisely.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien paused for a moment. “Oh. Yeah, okay. I can see how that could have gone wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>“You mentioned a rebound,” Kagami said, unsubtly changing topic. “Have you decided to move past your celebrity crush?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not a--” began Adrien before he stopped himself. The swivel of his chair squeaked as he fidgeted, rocking back and forth or spinning around, Kagami couldn’t tell which. “Or maybe it was. Doesn’t matter. She’s seeing someone else. Shoot, I mean she’s <em> dating </em>someone else--”</p><p> </p><p>“Sighted idioms do not bother me,” said Kagami. What did bother her was knowledge. The scene with Chat and Girouette on the rooftops had <em> not </em>made it to the Ladyblog. Kagami had made sure. Bits of it had been captured by news helicopters, but none had gotten close enough to record audio. “Is there a rumor circulating about Ladybug that I’m not aware of?”</p><p> </p><p>Softly, he said. “I’m not supposed to know about it, and you shouldn’t either. But I heard it from Chat. We are… were… friendly rivals for Ladybug’s hand, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>“I see,” Kagami said. Adrien’s chair stopped spinning, but he did not comment.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there anything I can do to help patch things up between you and Marinette? Behind the scenes, I mean, I wouldn’t want to make things awkward.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami shook her head. <em> That sweet, foolish boy </em>, she thought. Her head-over-heels romance with Marinette had overshadowed her feelings for Adrien, but it hadn’t erased them, and his sweet kindness blew oxygen on the cooling embers in her heart. “You are allowed to not be selfless from time to time, Adrien.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, this is totally me being selfish.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami cocked her head. “How so?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s really important to me that you two are happy together. That you two be a perfect, storybook couple. Because if you were meant for each other, that proves that neither of you was meant for <em> me </em>.” Kagami heard the rustling of his shirt as he shrugged. “I won’t have to go through the rest of my life wondering ‘what if,’ you know?”</p><p> </p><p>“I cannot fault your reasoning,” she answered. “At present there is nothing for you to do. She will realize the error of her ways, or she will not.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to fence?” Adrien asked suddenly. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami glowered, relying on her ears to point her baleful gaze in Adrien’s direction. “And how do you expect me to do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“You tell me!” He spoke glibly and moved light on his feet across the room to join her on the bed. “I don’t have a clue you can and can’t do, especially with your comic-book ‘family secrets.’ But even if we can’t go all out on the <em> piste </em>, there’s gotta be some sort of training or sparring we can work on.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami opened her mouth to object, but then she realized that Adrien was correct. She stood, testing her legs--still steady--and assumed a ready stance in the middle of the room. “Line your right foot up with mine. Press your right wrist against mine.” </p><p> </p><p>He did so.</p><p> </p><p>“The object is to strike the opponent’s body,” explained Kagami. She pressured Adrien’s wrist, moving them in slow circles. Adrien caught on quickly and provided counter-pressure. “Our arms and feet must stay in contact.”</p><p> </p><p>“Should I close my eyes, too?”</p><p> </p><p>“If you want to be destroyed, then by all means, close them.” Kagami hooked her hand over Adrien’s wrists, jerked him forward, and jabbed his far shoulder with her open fingers. “Touche.”</p><p> </p><p>“Right! Let’s try that again.” He repositioned himself, and they circled their wrists once again. He tried the same hooking move that Kagami had just shown him. Kagami felt it coming, leaned into the trap, and scored another point. “Got me. Best of five?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> En Garde. </em>”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien, always a quick study, managed to sneak a point in, then disqualified his next touch because he broke arm contact before scoring. Kagami got the next point, then another. “Best of nine?” he asked. Kagami nodded. “So if it’s okay talking about it… what <em> happened? </em> All your mother said on the phone was a ‘stress reaction.’ You’re here, talking with me, no visible injuries, so I assume you’re healthy aside from the obvious. But… wasn’t this supposed to be years ahead?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami grimaced at the question, then frowned deeper when Adrien scored three good hits in rapid succession. “The proximate cause of my premature blindness is a medical mystery,” she said. Though she trusted Adrien, her mother’s curse and Marinette’s near-akumatization were not her secrets to share. “As for the culprit, the police have instructed me not to spread my story that Lila Rossi was responsible until they’ve completed their investigation.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami did not steal the easy point when Adrien’s defense collapsed. </p><p> </p><p>“Lila was… what <em> happened? </em>” he asked. Kagami nudged his wrist, and he resumed their circling. She thrust; he countered and scored.</p><p> </p><p>“Best of thirteen?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Sure.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> En Garde </em>. What happened was this…” and she walked him through the events of the fateful evening: the news report, the fake emails, Luka, the chase, and the rescue. Along the way, she scored three points to Adrien’s one. </p><p> </p><p>“Best of seventeen?” he asked. Kagami nodded. “I can’t believe I tried to be her friend. I knew she was bad, but I thought I could bring out some goodness in her… I should have backed Marinette and called out her lies from day one! Instead, I let her run rampant, and this is the result. I’m sorry, Kagami.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mother holds herself responsible for my blindness. Marinette wants to horde the blame for herself.” While she was talking, he pulled her arm low, then thrust up. She leaned, guided the thrust over her head, and riposted. He was still in control, though, and guided her force to the side, then tapped her exposed neck with two fingers. She nodded to concede the point. <em> “En Garde. </em>I will not have you join their pity party. Besides…” they skirmished back and forth, neither scoring, then went back to the slow orbit of their wrists. “Marinette was also wrong about Lila. Simply exposing her without a contingency plan, as Marinette wanted to, would not have stopped her. It would only have led to her going full scorched-earth all the sooner.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, whatever contingencies you have,” said Adrien. “Count me in. <em> No one </em>hurts my friends.” Then, groaning, “and that’s another touch. Best of twenty-one?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami nodded. “<em> En Garde. </em> You stand up for what’s right. I am proud to call you friend. Unfortunately, the only contingency currently in place is to hope the police do their job.”</p><p> </p><p>“I wouldn’t be so sure,” said Adrien, scoring another point. “You’ve got Marinette on your side. She’s probably already got something in motion. She’s really amazing like that, you know--proactive, smart, organized, upright--ow!”</p><p> </p><p>The heel of Kagami’s hand drove into Adrien’s rib. “No point. Palm, not fingers. And I said we were having a spat, not a breakup. Hands off.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> En Garde. </em>Kagami, you know she’s just a friend.”</p><p> </p><p>“It is physically painful that I need to explain this to you, Adrien,” Kagami said, “but you have feelings for her, whether you admit it or not.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien’s guard crumbled again. This time, Kagami took the cheap point. </p><p> </p><p>“I deserved that,” he said. “And I’ll tell you what I told Nino: She’s a friend.”</p><p> </p><p>“Adrien…”</p><p> </p><p>“And this is a pointless argument, Kagami. Even if you’re right and I have a little bit of a crush, so what? For one thing, you’re my best rival, and poaching your girl would be scummy. But more importantly, feeling anything for Marinette would be unfair to her, because I could never give her my whole heart. She’s not Ladybug.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami responded with the truth. “No, she is so much more.” </p><p> </p><p>“You’re real soft on her, huh?” </p><p> </p><p>Her chest ached with loneliness. <em> Please, Marinette, come to your senses. </em>“I am,” she said simply.</p><p> </p><p>Sensing the topic was painful, Adrien shifted gears. “Best of twenty-five?”</p><p> </p><p>“Come at me, Agreste.”</p><p> </p><p>Ultimately, she won the best-of-sixty-three match, thirty-two points to thirty-one.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks to Cedalodon for comments</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When last she’d seen Headmaster Grognard, he’d had a closely cropped white beard that blended into his crew cut. But he’d been clean-shaven when Kagami had enrolled in the academy, and for all she knew now he might have shaved again. Regardless, he shuffled papers in front of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was doing most of the talking. The tribunal was theoretically composed of three people, but the woman to his left and the man to his right were obviously lackies, with “deputy” and “assistant” in their titles and nothing to distinguish their personalities. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...and so, it does appear that an intelligent robotic aide would violate Anquetil’s honor code. I’m afraid that I will have to veto it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I concur,” said the man to the Headmaster’s right, preserving the appearance of it being a voting body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you will be providing Kagami with a full-time human aide to assist her?” Tomoe challenged. The slight quaver in her voice was a small earthquake preceding a volcanic eruption. The Headmaster was a dead man walking, Kagami thought. He just didn’t know it yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our teaching aides are fully qualified--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and you know it.” The legs of Tomoe’s chair scraped the ground as she stood. “Not one of them has ever worked with a visually impaired student before. The most training any of them has had is a semester’s study in their baccalaureate. Can any of them even read braille?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Madame,” said the sniveling deputy assistant woman to the headmaster’s left. “Your disruptive behavior does not help your case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tomoe sat. She did not apologize.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our disability accommodations meet all applicable legal standards, I assure you.” The headmaster’s assurance carried little weight with Kagami. Legal standards were for the courts to adjudicate, not a private academy’s petty despot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And if I find them insufficient?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can make room in the classroom for an assistant of your choice, Madame,” said the headmaster. “Assuming they are properly credentialed and vetted.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And at my own expense?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Grognard hemmed, “since you are declining the school’s own fully-licensed programs…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>providing </span>
  </em>
  <span>the school with an </span>
  <em>
    <span>exorbitant </span>
  </em>
  <span>tuition,” Tomoe countered. “For what I’m paying, expect that my daughter’s basic educational need will be seen to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With all due respect, Madame,” said the woman. “Your daughter’s needs are anything but basic.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And besides!” The headmaster was quick to insert himself before the woman could dig herself deeper--an on-the-record admission of the academy’s reluctance would be devastating to the court case that was looking increasingly likely. “Your tuition covers extraordinary teachers, facilities, and name recognition. Anquetil Academy is synonymous in France with academic and athletic excellence!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I am no longer athletically excellent,” said Kagami. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That has absolutely nothing to do with my--err, </span>
  <em>
    <span>our</span>
  </em>
  <span>--decision today, mademoiselle!” Grognard was a terrible liar. “Though once we are done with the formalities, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a discussion about your plans for lycée? We would never, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever </span>
  </em>
  <span>refuse a student on the basis of disability, of course, but I wouldn’t want you to be spending money for athletic facilities you can’t use. And in light of recent behavioral issues…”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Behavioral issues?” Tomoe asked. Kagami could not discern whether she had turned to face her daughter or had kept her blind eyes on the headmaster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. She egged on another student, leading to an unprovoked assault one one of the most prestigious and talented athletes our school has had the pleasure of educating. Her involvement was tangential, but… concerning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was not aware that Doo Ri’s academic tribunal had concluded,” said Kagami. She chose her words carefully, restraining her fury with all her will. “I believed her hearing was scheduled to be held </span>
  <em>
    <span>after </span>
  </em>
  <span>mine, yet here you are, having pronounced judgment already.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Allegedly!” Grognard added hastily. “Allegedly egged on a student who allegedly assaulted another student, allegedly unprovoked!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah.” Tomoe’s short interjection silenced the room. Her presence was commanding even when Kagami couldn’t see her. “Perhaps you’re correct that this school is no longer a suitable facility for my daughter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad was see eye-to-eye, Mme. Tsurugi,” said the headmaster. Kagami heard the thwack of one of his lackies hitting him. “I mean, I’m glad we agree! Your cooperation is appreciated, of course. Kagami’s teachers will happily write recommendation letters to the leadership of any private lycée she chooses to attend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You misunderstand, M. Grognard. My daughter will be leaving effective </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami blinked. “Mother, there are three weeks left in the school year.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kagami, you need to be in an environment that will teach you to function independently while blind, academics be damned. You may not be able to keep up in your new classes, but you will learn to navigate a new environment and to work with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>competent </span>
  </em>
  <span>staff to adapt to blindness in a sighted world.” Tomoe’s hand found Kagami’s arm. “I trust you will have no objection to Dupont?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“None.” Marinette hadn’t called to apologize, but she would, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to, and even if she didn’t, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but she would, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Adrien and the robot Markov represented more assistance than was being offered by the entirety of Anquetil. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll need a prepared statement, of course,” Tomoe added. “The paparazzi have taken a salacious interest in your romantic life. It’s unseemly. We’ll need to dispel those rumors with a public explanation of the reasons for your transfer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rapid whispering rustled between the three officials. “Now now now,” said the headmaster, “let’s not be hasty. If your daughter misspeaks in front of the cameras and her statement is defamatory, then the lawyers will have to get involved--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“M. Grognard, it is too late by far for you to keep my lawyers from involving themselves. You will hear from them shortly. Sato, Sancoeur? We’re leaving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mme. Tsurugi!” the headmaster blustered fruitlessly. Kagami heard Tomoe stand and followed suit. Tiffany took her arm, and the Tsurugis left </span>
  <em>
    <span>l’académie Jaques Anquetil</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the last time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Several hours later, Kagami sat on her knees in her </span>
  <em>
    <span>hakama </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>gi. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She breathed in time with her mother, listening to mantras and meditating upon the world around her, but her mystic sense remained stubbornly asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t working, mother.” Kagami rolled her bamboo sword over her thigh muscles to loosen them. Traditional </span>
  <em>
    <span>seiza </span>
  </em>
  <span>strained the legs, and she’d worked herself to exhaustion yesterday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Zanshin </span>
  </em>
  <span>is a defense mechanism, child.” Her mother sat opposite her, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tatami-</span>
  </em>
  <span>length away. “Do not be fooled by how quickly it came in time of crisis. To enter that state at will takes a supreme feat of concentration.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am aware that I am a novice,” Kagami said. “But I’ve accomplished </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>today. I focus on the world: nothing. I focus on my memories of Friday: nothing. We spar and you strike at me: nothing. Not a glimmer of magic, not a spark of awareness. Hours of sitting, and zero to show for it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This impatience is unlike you, daughter.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This </span>
  <em>
    <span>failure </span>
  </em>
  <span>is unlike me. When learning the most challenging techniques, I can take satisfaction in miniscule advancements and tiny accomplishments. But today, I end exactly where I started.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami felt a whistle of wind in front of her nose. She raised her hand and, sure enough, her mother’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>shinai </span>
  </em>
  <span>was centimeters from her face. She hadn’t heard the swordmistress move.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps you are correct, Kagami,” her mother said. “Your training may require resources we cannot access. We should hold your training until we return home to Japan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami’s mouth went dry. “Return home? But…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will complete the school year, of course, but then we will go back to Tokyo.” She spoke with absolute finality, her demeanor telling Kagami that she would brook no argument. “I will conclude my business with M. Agreste in the interim. You will be able to close the books with Adrien and Doo Ri. Hopefully, that will also give you time to resolve this spat with Marinette. Though on second thought, leaving will be easier if you have broken up---”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami slammed aside her mother’s sword with her own and swung for her elder’s head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tomoe dodged, but not far--the swish of cloth on cloth revealed her location. Kagami stepped forward with another blow, an overhead attack that Tomoe met with crossed bamboo. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>tatami </span>
  </em>
  <span>under Kagami’s bare feet shifted microscopically, meaning Tomoe’s rear foot was on its edge, unstable. Kagami shoved their locked blades and Tomoe gave ground, retreating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sensory overstimulation pulsed painfully behind her dead eyes, but she was already in pain from her legs and now her palms, so it slowed her not at all. She made two more slashes, each on target, each deflected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then her mother counterattacked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A whiff of sweat from a raised underarm warned Kagami what Tomoe was preparing, and she raised her block before she heard the bamboo slicing the air. The training weapons cracked together. The echo told Kagami that she had her mother nearly backed up to the wall. But another blow, and then another, turned the tide of the battle, and now Kagami was the one retreating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a fighting retreat. She could not hold ground, but she would not be struck, not when her whole life was on the line. With staccato parries, she defended herself as best she could against the storm that was Grandmistress Tomoe Tsurugi.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She circled the whole dojo twice before she faltered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With pain in her fingers and pain behind her eyes, her guard and her senses crumpled as one. The world was once again black and impenetrable, and she could not pinpoint her sword’s location when it flew from her hands. Crawling, she groped blindly across the mats, but the training weapon escaped her grasp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough, daughter,” said Tomoe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You...agh…” another pulse of migraine. “You will not… take me… from my home,” she said. There it was! She fumbled with her sword’s grip and slashed uselessly at the empty air in Tomoe’s general direction. “You will not take me from my friends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tomoe disarmed her with a single strike. “Of course I won’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Barely staying upright, Kagami wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “You… won’t? But you said--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Tomoe lectured, “that </span>
  <em>
    <span>zanshin </span>
  </em>
  <span>comes quickly in time of crisis.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami’s jaw dropped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Manipulating you? Yes, daughter, and I will continue to do so for your betterment.” The padded tip of her bamboo blade tapped Kagami’s chin, prompting her to close her mouth. “If you have a problem with that, tell me now so we can both stop wasting our time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That was cruel, mother, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kagami thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Have you forgotten that you are my parent? Have you finally abandoned pretense of sympathy? Are you committed to the role of elder master, demanding that your disciples prove themselves worthy of your attention?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s about time!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kagami kneeled prostrate, pressing her hands on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>tatami </span>
  </em>
  <span>and her forehead to her hands. “Thank you for your wisdom, sensei.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you truly respect my wisdom, child, then do not try this again today.” Tomoe’s sword tapped against the mat. She, too, had a time limit and was blind again. “Perform the Falling Water Kata three times at half speed. Then have Sancoeur prepare you for a meeting with the lawyers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sensei,” Kagami said, still bowed. She remained in that pose until her mother had left the dojo. Then, she stood and set about performing her kata.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another hour later, Kagami was dressed in what Tiffany assured her was a tasteful white blouse and red knee-length skirt. At some point in the near future she would have braille identifiers sewn into all her clothes so she could dress herself, but for now she was beholden to Tiffany’s fashion judgment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mssrs. Valour, Kurtzberg, and Hawthorne expect you in their offices at 16:00. We’ll be meeting your mother there. We’ll need to leave in about twenty minutes. Anything I can do for you before then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Almonds.” Kagami was perfectly capable of finding them in the pantry herself, but she let herself be lazy this once as a small reward for the intensive training she’d just gone through. Besides, even when she’d been sighted, she usually asked Sato to prepare her daily protein boosters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” Tiffany answered primly. There was presumably a limit to how many ‘gofer’ tasks a skilled aide like Tiffany would submit to, but Kagami didn’t think she was anywhere near it. “And water?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tiffany’s heels tapped off in the distance. Kagami waited calmly for her to return.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, her phone rang, and Kagami frantically answered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello?” she said, unable to read the caller ID. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please be you, Marinette.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kagami?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was, and it wasn’t. Fascinating, how the voice could be identical yet unrecognizable. What strange magic, these Miraculous. “Ladybug?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Incoming akuma! I’m on its tail--I’ll protect you no matter what. Hang on!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The line went dead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the first time since she went blind, Kagami was scared. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t fight. That wasn’t really new; some akuma could take on armies. But as she was now, she couldn’t take on a single minion. A mummy, a mirror-zombie, a kissoo kissoo, would be enough to end her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t run. She knew her own home, but at her best, she could safely move at a brisk walk. She hadn’t paced out the house to know the number of running steps before she hit a wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t even hide, not without eyes to judge lines of sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nevermind the terrifying prospect of an akuma targeting </span>
  <em>
    <span>her. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It couldn’t be Lila, Marinette would have said. So who was it? Someone she’d defeated in fencing? She couldn’t remember humiliating anyone recently, but any of the faceless incompetents she’d crushed on the way to her last match with Adrien might have taken it personally. Who could it be?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And where was Tiffany?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sancoeur!” Kagami shouted, louder. “Akuma!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The got Tiffany’s attention, and the woman hurried back from the kitchen. “Mlle. Tsurugi, did I hear you correctly? There have been no alerts--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was when someone kicked down the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tiffany was quick to react. “This way!” she said, grabbing Kagami’s shoulders. Kagami let herself be led. She wasn’t sure where Tiffany planned to take her, but anywhere was safer than here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then the villain spoke. No, the villains, plural, two voices speaking flawless Japanese in eerie synchronicity. “Kagami-kun, we brought you a present!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, Doo Ri, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kagami thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What has Hawk Moth done to you? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Wait,” she whispered, shaking off Tiffany’s grip. Louder, to the villains, she asked, “A present, Doo Ri-kun?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ‘present’ answered. “Unhand me, Mlle. Han!” said Headmaster Grognard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re not Doo Ri Han!” chorused the villains in French. “We’re Double Standard! And we can’t abide hypocrites like you, who have two sets of rules for different classes of people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mlle. Han, I understand that your expulsion was upsetting, but Anquetil’s honor code is quite clear--”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough!” they yelled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve applied your rules selectively,” one villain said. The one on the right, Kagami thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Was it because Angelique is a girl, so she has a free pass for the kind of things that would get a boy suspended?” asked the one on the left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or is it because she’s native-born French, and we’re strangers in a strange land?” asked the one on the right.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or is it because she’s been bringing in gold, and we’ve only gotten bronzes in our last few meets?” asked the first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That must be it,” said the second. “He’d have let Kagami get away with anything, until the day she couldn’t win any more. No more gold for the showcase? No more favors from the administration!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense!” exclaimed Grognard, as convincingly as a toddler covered in chocolate and crumbs telling his mother he hadn’t stolen the cookies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re going to apologize,” Double Standard said in unison. “You’re going to apply the rules fairly to me and to Kagami.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have applied the rules to the best of my ability--” he protested. His words fell on deaf ears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop denying it.” The one on the right was speaking again, cloyingly sweet.  “We can be very persuasive if we need to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My friend,” Kagami said carefully. The name ‘Doo Ri’ would have upset them, but calling them ‘Double Standard’ was playing into Hawk Moth’s hands. “This is a grave injustice, but violence is not the answer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my innocent young Kagami-kun," said the rightmost Doo Ri. "It’s kind of you to say that, but we have to disagree. We </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>get an apology out of our dear headmaster. One way…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the left, Kagami heard the crash of a monstrous fist punching through a wall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...or the other.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks to Tog84 and the-river-of-light for feedback on the chapter, and to MiniMinou for help with Doo Ri's akumatization.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The <em> zip </em>of a yo-yo line was the only warning Kagami got before she was yanked past the villains and out the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Give her back!” said Double Standard. Kagami heard colliding flesh and twin <em> oofs </em>, one male and one female. Doo Ri had flung the headmaster into Tiffany and, from the sound of it, had taken off to follow. </p><p> </p><p>“Ladybug,” Kagami gasped, not from surprise but from the yo-yo string squeezing her diaphragm. </p><p> </p><p>“We’ll get you out of here, Kagami. Don’t worry, you’re safe with me!” Ladybug unwound Kagami and moved to grab her. Kagami, a natural athlete in tune with her own body, easily moved in her grip, wrapping her arms around Ladybug’s neck and legs around her waist. Ladybug held her with one arm and flung her yo-yo with the other, and Kagami’s stomach dropped as they leapt away.</p><p> </p><p>“My aide-- and M. Grognard--” </p><p> </p><p>“You’re my priority now, Kagami.”</p><p> </p><p>“She is?” That was Chat Noir, who was silent as his animal totem. He wasn’t quipping, either. Recovery from heartbreak was a long, slow process.</p><p> </p><p>“I should not be,” Kagami said over the wind whipping past her hair. “They are my friend, even akumatized. I’m unlikely to be hurt. But if you evade them, they’ll return to the headmaster, and you won’t be able to protect him. Release me!”</p><p> </p><p>“No. You’d still be in danger.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s a tough cookie,” said Chat. “Yeah, she’s blind, but she’s not going to break if you put her down. As long as--whoa!” Something whooshed by them. Ladybug juked left, jerking Kagami in her grip. When Chat resumed, he was further away, having dodged in the opposite direction. “As long as she’s someplace hidden, she’s got enough fight in her to hold down the fort until we’ve purified the akuma and can return to her.”</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t understand, Chat.” Ladybug’s yo-yo swung low; Kagami’s heels scraped over grass, and something dangerous flew over the girls’ heads. “I can’t just leave her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, you can,” Kagami insisted, wishing she could say more without risking Marinette’s identity. </p><p> </p><p>“No I can’t! I failed to protect you once. Never again!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, what?” asked Chat. Kagami bit her tongue. Ladybug would gamble her identity, too, just to shelter her? Absurd.</p><p> </p><p>“She was blinded chasing down an akuma. It’s a long and complicated story,” Ladybug said, dodging the issue. “ What you need to know is that I <em> could </em>have stopped it, but I didn’t. So I’m going to defend her from now on, no matter what.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well that’s great and all, LB,” he said. “But if you’re defending her, then who’s purifying the akuma?”</p><p> </p><p>“I… that is…” </p><p> </p><p>“Better figure it out fast, LB. They’re closing in on us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Lucky--”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing, Ladybug!” shouted Chat. “Reflekdoll showed me that I don’t understand your powers half as well as you do, but I <em> know </em> it’s too early to use a Lucky Charm. We barely know what the villains' powers are, let alone where her akuma is hiding. How will you use whatever you get?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not trying to fight the akuma. I’m trying to keep Kagami safe. Lucky Charm!”</p><p> </p><p><em> I’ve died. I’ve died and gone to hell, </em>Kagami thought. Bad enough that Marinette was pitying her. But now, Marinette-as-Ladybug was putting the whole city of Paris at risk, all because she felt sorry for Kagami. It was a nightmare.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami felt Ladybug’s steps as she hit the ground running, since her yo-yo was occupied with magic. The hero caught something with a grunt.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, great, LB,” Chat groaned. “Now we’ve got a socket wrench. What are you supposed to do with--”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god, what am I doing?” said Ladybug, horrified. </p><p> </p><p>“LB?”</p><p> </p><p>“Back to the Tsurugi estate, Chat. Stat!” Ladybug leapt, and Kagami felt her motion come to a sudden halt with a creak of groaning wood. The tree she’d leapt onto bent, and sprang back, catapulting Kagami and Marinette back in the direction of Kagami’s home at tremendous speed. The two villains shouted, their voices rising and falling as the hero Dopplered past. </p><p> </p><p>“Kagami, I am so, so, so sorry,” said Ladybug. “I’ve been treating you like you’re made out of porcelain. You’re blind now, but you’re still just as strong as you’ve always been. I’m being disrespectful, and I’m being <em> stupid. </em>How could I forget your strength? How could I forget why I chose you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Chose her?” said Chat. “You mean as Ryuuko?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami heard Ladybug gulp. “Of course! Ha ha ha ha! What <em> else </em>could I possibly be referring to!”</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” Chat answered skeptically.</p><p> </p><p>“Anyway. Kagami, I already know how you’ll answer, but I still have to ask: do we have your sword against this villain?”</p><p> </p><p>A million thoughts ran through Kagami’s head. <em> I love you </em> was prominent among them, but also, <em> you hurt me with your doubt </em> , and a smattering of <em> I can’t help, not as I am now. </em>In the end, though, what she said was: “All that… from a socket wrench?”</p><p> </p><p>“Eh heh heh,” said Ladybug, and Kagami could picture Marinette’s blush behind Ladybug’s mask. “Lucky Charms are weird like that?”</p><p> </p><p>“You shoulda seen the unicycle,” Chat added.</p><p> </p><p>Another lurching swing ended with the sound of Ladybug’s boots on hardwood. They were back at the manor, though Kagami had no sense of where. Kagami heard Ladybug’s footsteps cross the room and then come back. But it was Chat Noir who spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“Whoa, whoa, whoa, LB. I know I said she was a fighter, but she’s still <em> blind. </em>She can’t take on an akuma, no matter how much we wish otherwise.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you…?” Kagami started to ask. </p><p> </p><p>Ladybug answered her by pressing the familiar grip of a sword into her hand. “She can’t <em> fight. </em> But she can strike from ambush. I have a plan. Kagami, stay here, wait for us, and when I say lunge, you <em> lunge. </em>” She brushed her gloved fingertips across the back of Kagami’s hand, a gentle gesture just out of Chat Noir’s sight. “This will work, I promise, but your response needs to be instant. No hesitation. Can I count on you not to hesitate?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami smiled and felt a faint misting of her blind eyes. Marinette’s choice of words was not accidental. Kagami couldn’t say “I love you” without giving away Marinette’s identity, but now, she could say the next best thing. Assuming a ready stance, she declared, “I never hesitate.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Ladybug said with wistful emotion. “Chat, let’s go. It’s up to you, me, and this socket wrench to make sure the villain ends up in the right place and the right time. We’ve got one shot at this. Let’s make it count!” With the zip of a yo-yo and the thunk of an extended staff, the two heroes left to meet the two villains head-on. </p><p> </p><p>The only sound was Kagami’s blood coursing through her veins. <em> I’m glad you found yourself, Marinette. I’m glad the girl I fell for is still there. And I suppose I owe thanks to Tikki, for her intervention. A socket wrench? That girl… she’s amazing. </em></p><p> </p><p>But the silence dragged on, and the elation faded, and despite her words, Kagami began to experience hesitation. Not at the danger; she had absolute faith in Ladybug’s plan. Rather, the question was Kagami’s role. She could rely entirely on Ladybug’s word, and risk faltering or missing in her blinded state; or, she could attempt once more to call upon her own faint magicks, and risk the debilitating pain of the overload. </p><p> </p><p>If she came at all. Where was she? Seconds turned to minutes. Kagami didn’t dare break her stealth or her concentration by asking her phone’s voice to tell her the time, but it had to be nearing the five-minute mark. </p><p> </p><p>Her fingers clenched on the contoured hilt of the foil. Ladybug had used her Lucky Charm early, because of Kagami. It was Ladybug’s foolishness, but it was Kagami’s weakness. She’d blame herself if Marinette got hurt. <em> Please, my love. Hurry back.  </em></p><p> </p><p>Ladybug granted Kagami’s wish with an explosive crash.</p><p> </p><p>Instinctually, Kagami reached her will out to the environment around her. She instantly regretted it when her world became painful cacophony. The whispers of a thousand splinters of wood resonated like a freight train through her skull. A body was sailing past her, nauseating her with smells of soil and plastic and water--it was wrapped in a garden hose? Double Standard’s second body tumbled shortly thereafter, careening towards Kagami, wailing in a wet muffled voice, and carrying the distinctive odor of the watermelon stuck upon her head. Chat Noir’s staff extended through the air and landed solidly on the back of the second villain’s knee. Kagami heard her stumble to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>“Lunge!” Ladybug yelled.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami lunged. The point of her foil went directly for the object in Double Standard’s hand, a plastic box that Kagami guessed was a DVD case. </p><p> </p><p>Ladybug’s plan was almost perfect. Had Kagami relied solely on Ladybug’s voice, she would have clipped the corner of the akumatized object and knocked it flying out of the villain’s reach. However, with Kagami’s senses honed to their maximum, she was able to correct for the microseconds of error in Ladybug’s timing. She adjusted her blade the few millimeters needed to launch the akumatized object directly into Chat Noir’s outstretched claws, where it snapped easily. The butterfly, tainted by darkness, escaped.</p><p> </p><p>As Hawk Moth’s negative energy flooded over Kagami, she kept her lunch in her stomach, but only just.</p><p> </p><p>The next thirty seconds were a blur. The ladybugs crawled over Kagami, putting her hair and clothes back into order and relieving her headache, but only momentarily. Still thrumming with the adrenalin of conflict, the blind girl couldn’t restrain her senses quickly enough. She fell to her knees fighting back the urge to shout as knives drove once more into her skull, while the heroes did the usual steps of purification and restoration. Doo Ri asked “Where am I?” and Headmaster Grognarded proclaimed his gratitude. </p><p> </p><p>“Kagami, are you--” Ladybug shouted over the chaos.</p><p> </p><p>“LB, your transformation--”</p><p> </p><p>“My room has a lock, I’ll be fine! Go!” Kagami ordered. Thank heavens, Ladybug had the presence of mind to listen. Her yo-yo flew, and she disappeared. </p><p> </p><p>“Mademoiselle Tsurugi,” said Tiffany. “Are you injured?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami was near a wall. She used it to prop herself up, nearly falling over twice before finding her feet. The whole world spun around her, and the agonizing pain in her head throbbed in time with her heartbeat. “Of course not,” she said. “I overexerted myself, that’s all. Even if I had been injured, Ladybug’s magic would have healed me. What room am I in?”</p><p> </p><p>“The dining hall, mademoiselle. The wall closest to the entryway. Let me help you to--”</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany’s voice was closing rapidly. Kagami blindly slashed the air in front of her. Channeling her mother as best she could, the young Tsurugi said, “<em> Never. </em>Lay a hand on me without permission. Is that clear, Sancoeur?”</p><p> </p><p>“...my apologies, mademoiselle,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>“Mlle. Han is welcome to all the amenities our house has to offer. Pass on my regrets that I cannot entertain her personally,” Kagami said.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m right here,” said Doo Ri, her dry humor already reasserting itself. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami smiled, then winced when smiling made the headache worse. “As for M. Grognard, he is <em> not </em>welcome. See to it that transportation is arranged for him. Promptly. Is that clear, Sancoeur?”</p><p> </p><p>“As you say, mademoiselle.”</p><p> </p><p>“...thank you, Tiffany.” Kagami had made her point. Formality was no longer necessary. “Please inform my mother that I will not be attending the meeting with the lawyers, but that her presence is not required at the manor if she wished to consult with them by herself. I’m heading to my room.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, you sent Ladybug in there!” Chat objected. “She won’t have had time to recharge yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re worried about me seeing her without her mask on?” Kagami asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Exactly, and there’s no way that’s possible because you’re blind, so I’m just going to see myself out before I put my paw in my mouth again. Talk to you later, Kagami. Ta ta!” He bolted for the door.</p><p> </p><p>Tiffany helped Doo Ri to a seat and showed the headmaster out, and Kagami staggered to the stairs. She rested her whole body weight on the railing and hauled herself up on step at a time. Tiffany’s calm deflection of the headmaster’s objection faded into the background as Kagami ascended, and she heard the door slam as she groped at the wall of the hallway that led to her room. </p><p> </p><p>She knocked. “It’s me. I’m alone.”</p><p> </p><p>The lock clicked. “Come in.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami let herself in and locked the door behind her. She got two steps inside before another resurgence of pain dropped her back to her knees.</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami!” Marinette cried out.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine!” Kagami yelled, knowing she was not.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette took a step towards Kagami, then stepped back. “This is my fault, isn’t it?” she said softly.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami forced one hand to go in front of the other, sweaty palms slick against the varnished wooden floor. “I overexerted myself. There’s no one to blame but me.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not what I meant,” Marinette sighed. “I mean it’s my fault that you’re punishing yourself. I… was horrible to you. Your worst fear was to be pitied, and I acted like I was pitying you. I put all of Paris at risk for you. It was wrong and terrible and I’m so, so sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve already forgiven you,” Kagami said simply.</p><p> </p><p>“You haven’t forgotten, though,” Marinette answered. “I get it. You don’t need me to hold chairs and slice sandwiches. But you need help now--”</p><p> </p><p>“Do <em> not </em>tell me what help I do and do not need, Marinette,” Kagami growled.</p><p> </p><p>“Stand up and say that to my face.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami clenched her fists as another wave of dizziness swept over her. “I… cannot.” </p><p> </p><p>“Kagami… <em>ma Mousquetaire…</em> it’s okay to need help sometimes.”</p><p> </p><p>Bitterly, Kagami said, “Because I am crippled.”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you’re <em>human!</em>” Marinette knelt down at Kagami’s side. The girl was still respecting Kagami’s personal space, not touching her without permission, but she was close enough for Kagami to feel her breath. “You needed my help to come to terms with your loss of passion for fencing. I needed your help to come to terms with liking girls. You needed me to help you repair your friendship with Doo Ri. I needed you to help me move past Adrien. We’re dating, Kagami. Helping is what people do when they care about one another, and I care about you so very much. So please… let me help you.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami knew her answer instantaneously, but she waited to say it. It was, she was ashamed to admit, a test. Marinette had stated the exact right thing, but the right thing was always easier to say than to actually do. Kagami was, at this moment, as pitiable as a girl could be. Blind, in agony, dizzy, incapable of standing. Could Marinette, brimming with empathy and obsessively helpful, hold back her assistance when it was not wanted?</p><p> </p><p>As the seconds ticked by, Marinette stood quietly, waiting to be invited. As she should.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami raised her hand, and Marinette was there immediately. With her support, Kagami made it to her bed, and she also accepted without complaint Marinette’s help in getting under the blankets. Once her head was settled in the pillow, the spinning of the world slowed most of the way down. </p><p> </p><p>“I need something else from you, Marinette.” Kagami held up her hand again; Marinette intertwined their fingers.</p><p> </p><p>“Name it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Comfort Doo Ri.” </p><p> </p><p>“Comfort her?” </p><p> </p><p>“You know. Be yourself. Kind. Supportive. Understanding.” Kagami pulled Marinette’s hand to her face and kissed her knuckles. “It is not my place to share, but she has been treated cruelly and unfairly. I am poor at giving sympathy, and incapacitated besides. Please come back as Marinette, and talk to her on my behalf.”</p><p> </p><p>“But what about you, you’re…” Marinette stopped suddenly, her whole body jerking taut. “Stop it, Marinette, you’re doing it again. If she says she’ll be fine, she’ll be fine. You will be fine, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Kagami said. “I overtaxed my senses. That’s all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Promise?”</p><p> </p><p>“I promise.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Marinette said. “We should be good to go. Tikki?”</p><p> </p><p>“Almoft done!” the Kwami said past a mouthful of some sweet or another. </p><p> </p><p>“Good. Kagami, I’m going to make this all up to you.”</p><p> </p><p>“You already have. You trusted me. You let me fight. That’s all I could ever ask. I love you, Marinette,” she said. </p><p> </p><p>“I know you do. Tikki, spots on!” Marinette, now Ladybug, undid the lock on the door, but she left via the window. Minutes later, the doorbell rang, announcing her return. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami didn’t exactly fall asleep, but she certainly wasn’t fully conscious of the interim between Marinette’s second arrival and her knocking on Kagami’s door. Her exhausted fugue turned into a trance, aided by the absolute blackness of her vision, blotting out the dwindling pain in her head and the incessant ticking of the clock. It had to have been at least twenty minutes, judging by the modest dampness under her arms in the heat of a too-warm quilt, but it could have been an hour or more. </p><p> </p><p>“Come in,” she croaked. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Come in!”</p><p> </p><p>“Feeling better, Kagami?” Marinette asked after opening the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you well?” Added Doo Ri. “I understood Ladybug’s magic to fix <em> everything </em>I did, yet here you are, infirm in bed.”</p><p> </p><p>“You did nothing, Doo Ri,” Kagami corrected. “My current condition is self-inflicted, but even if it were not, the fault is solely Hawk Moth’s.”</p><p> </p><p>“Your girlfriend was very insistent on that point,” the swimmer said. “I’m pleased to call her a friend, and I look forward to spending more time ‘hanging out’ with the two of you. However, at the moment, mother’s car is a few minutes away. We’ll have much to discuss. Apparently, my alternate form was successful in exposing the headmaster’s…”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami supplied the French word again. “...hypocrisy,” </p><p> </p><p>“That. They’re reconvening the tribunal, ‘in light of new evidence.’ We’ll see how it goes.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad you came to say your goodbyes, then,” said Kagami. “And I owe you thanks. I want you to know that, upon further consideration, I plan to take your advice.”</p><p> </p><p>“About?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mourning.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah. Then I’ll leave you and Marinette to your privacy. Good day, Kagami-chan. Feel better.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good day, Doo Ri.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nice to meet you!” chimed Marinette, and Doo Ri’s footsteps informed Kagami of her departure. “Mourning?” Marinette followed up, once the third girl was gone.</p><p> </p><p>“Hold me, please?” Kagami asked. Years of training rebelled at the thought of allowing herself to sound so weak, but she let her voice tremble anyway. That was the whole point of the exercise, after all. And if anyone would accept her emotions without judgment, it was Marinette. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette sat at the top of Kagami’s bed. She rested Kagami’s head on her thigh, holding her cheek with one hand and brushing her hair with the other. </p><p> </p><p>“Doo Ri pointed out that since I lost my si--sight…. I haven’t let myself c-cry. That’s not normal. It’s not healthy. I l-lost a part of myself.” With an upwelling of confidence, she quickly added, “It’s my ancestor’s fault. Not yours or mine. I’m not trying to make either of us guilty. But…” With a shuddering breath, she continued. “I’m never going to see my wedding dress, Marinette! I’m not going to see the Aurora. I’m not going to see Niagara. There are so many works at the Louvre I’ll never get to see! The Turkish Bath, the Dying Slave, masterpieces within easy reach and yet forever denied to me. They’re all gone!”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette stroked Kagami’s hair, and listened. </p><p> </p><p>“I won’t ever see my mother’s face again. I won’t see the faces of my children when they’re born. I won’t see you!” Kagami rolled over, pressing her face into Marinette’s jeans hard enough to leave lines in her skin. The pressure did not staunch her tears. “I’ll never see your body, Marinette, even when you’re ready to show it to me. And I’ll never see the blush I know you have right now, no matter how much I tease you. It’s gone. Forever.”</p><p> </p><p>“And that’s why you need to mourn,” Marinette said. “Doo Ri is a wise friend.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami no longer had words. She had unstoppered her emotions; now they flowed as freely as the tears from her eyes, and she trembled and wept in Marinette’s caring embrace. </p><p> </p><p>An indeterminate amount of time later, after the worst of the wracking sobs had passed, Marinette said, “Let’s go whitewater rafting.”</p><p> </p><p>The non sequitur made Kagami blink. “Whitewater rafting?”</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t see Niagara,” said Marinette. Her fingers never stopped their caresses. “The waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest of America are a lot smaller, but we’ll be getting a <em> lot </em>closer. Going right over them.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami smiled. “I’d like that.”</p><p> </p><p>“And later, after we’ve graduated, maybe we can head to South Africa. There’s a natural preserve there called the ‘Echo Caves,’ because the indigenous people used hollow stalactites to warn the whole cavern of danger. It’s no Aurora, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“...it would sound amazing, I’m sure.”</p><p> </p><p>“And… I’m not ready yet. I won’t be for a while. But we’re going to be a couple, and that means we’ll do...couple things.” Relationship talk made Marinette nervous, and those nerves transmitted themselves to Kagami via an accelerated pace of the finger strokes on her forehead. But Marinette pushed through. “You’ll get to feel all the parts of me that you can’t see. One day! Not now. But one day! And I’m blushing like crazy now and you can’t see it, but…” </p><p> </p><p>Marinette lifted Kagami’s head so the blind girl’s ear was against her chest. Her heart thundered against her ribcage like it was trying to escape. “...but you can <em> hear </em> what you do to me. My pulse is going a mile a minute, because of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.” Kagami kept her head there, close, listening to the rushing blood and imagining it pooling in Marinette’s cheeks. “Thank you. I needed to cry. But I also needed the reminder. That I have a long, fulfilling life ahead of me, even without my sight.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> We </em> have long, fulfilling lives ahead of <em> us, </em>” Marinette corrected. “Together.”</p><p> </p><p>With that, Kagami shed the last tear she would ever need to shed for her lost sight. “Together.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks to Cedalodon for feedback and proofreading.</p><p>Sorry for the wait! Things have been a little stressful with life lately, but I got this chapter done. That's the good news--no indefinite cliffhanger. The bad news (or at least, the bad news for readers, GREAT news for me!) is that my wife's C-section is scheduled for Monday. Kiddo number 2 is on the way! That means I have no idea how long it will take me to get the next two epilogue chapters done. It might be right away, it might be months, depending on how good our baby girl is at pooping, sleeping, and eating. Wish me luck, thanks for understanding, and enjoy!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well, took a long time to get back in the swing of things, but here I am!</p><p>By the way, Talia was born via C-section weighing 9lbs 1oz on Feb 24, and she's tied for the cutest thing ever to mess a diaper in my house. </p><p>Thanks a ton to Itookyourpen for a bunch of suggestions and grammar fixes.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“And so, please welcome your new classmate, Kagami Tsurugi.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami?” Marinette shouted. Adrien did the same, fractionally slower.</p><p> </p><p>Tapping her cane in front of her and following Markov’s hum, Kagami entered the room, turned towards the sound of storming whispers, smiled, and said, “Surprise!”</p><p> </p><p>“But what are you…” sputtered Marinette.</p><p> </p><p>“I am adapting to changes in my life in a supportive environment,” the blind girl answered. “Markov is an extraordinary individual, and Dupont has proven capable of handling disabilities with grace and sensitivity. Plus,” she added, “my doctors say I will adjust better with proper 'emotional scaffolding'.”</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever support you need, you’ll get it.” That was Adrien. His footsteps approached. Kagami had crushed on him for a good while; a mental image of his smile came easily to her. “I wish you’d told me so I could have set up a party or something, but this is a really good surprise--whoa!”</p><p> </p><p>Lighter, faster footsteps dashed towards Adrien. “You can’t just hug her!” Marinette said. “She can’t see you coming!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, sorry! Thanks for the save, Marinette. Besides, you probably want first crack at her, anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“I do. Can I hug you, Kagami?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course.” Kagami opened her arms, and the familiar shape of Marinette’s body pressed against her. Kagami placed a hand on the small of her girlfriend’s spine, and the other at the back of her head. And, unable to resist, she placed a small kiss on Marinette’s lips.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s return kiss was deeper, and Kagami’s answer was deeper still. </p><p> </p><p>“Ahem.” The teacher cleared her throat loud enough to be heard over the raucous whooping of the class. “Mlle. Tsurugi, I’m going to politely suggest that you select a seat <em> not </em> next to Marinette? We wouldn’t want a distraction to cause her grades to slip at the end of the semester, now would me?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami broke off the kiss but did not let go. “Of course not, Mlle. Bustier.”</p><p> </p><p>Mlle. Bustier cleared her throat again, and Marinette stepped away. Adrien asked “May I?” and, when Kagami nodded, gave her a quick, chaste hug of his own. </p><p> </p><p>“We have a few empty seats around the room. Two of our students were involved in an… incident… and are serving in-school suspensions pending the investigation.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m aware,” Kagami said. “Juleka? With your permission, I’d be honored to guard Rose’s seat until she returns.”</p><p> </p><p>“Umm. That’s fine. Maybe even after she comes back. She’s as distracting to me as Marinette is to you.”</p><p> </p><p>This provoked another round of whooping and another “ahem” from the teacher.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami turned in the direction of the class. “Thank you all for keeping this a surprise. Markov and Max already passed on my introduction, but I owe it to you to make my request in person. Blindness is a challenge. Please, support me when I ask. But it is a challenge I must learn to live with, so please withhold support when I do not require it. I will endeavor to follow along with your academics, but more than anything, I am here to learn to live with my disability. Thank you for your understanding.” She bowed in the Japanese style to almost 90 degrees and held the supplicant pose for several seconds. Then she whispered a quiet request to Markov, and with his beeping guidance and her cane, she climbed the steps and settled into a seat next to Juleka. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad you’re okay,” Juleka whispered. “Rose and I saw Marinette helping you into the ambulance, and we’ve been worried ever since. Even though we got Max’s message, it’s more real in person.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for your concern,” Kagami said stiffly, and she knew that she was being distant but didn’t know what else to say. She could sense the tension even though she couldn’t see it, and awkwardly ignored it until the teacher began her lecture.</p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately, introductions took the time we’d normally spend on our pre-class ritual, so let’s jump into our lesson,” Bustier said. “Now, your readings were about these three topics.” Kagami heard the tap of a pointer on a blackboard. “Everyone should be caught up, so we’ll begin here, then move onto the other two. Who can tell me the main thesis of this passage?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami gave no outward indication of her displeasure. But inside, she groaned. <em>This is going to be a very long class.</em></p><p> </p><p>------</p><p> </p><p>Kagami asked Marinette to give her space between classes. Marinette was supremely kind and excessively anxious, but she had internalized the harsh lesson of their brief separation, so she  granted Kagami her independence. And so, with Marinette distant, it was Juleka who led her to science class. Juleka moved with too much hesitance for Kagami’s liking, but at least they beat the bell.</p><p> </p><p>Although Kagami found the science teacher petty and nitpicky, a great deal could be forgiven in exchange for competence. Kagami easily followed the lesson, assisted by physical models and the fact that today’s lesson had been covered six months ago in the Academy’s curriculum. Satisfied with her progress and with Markov’s note-taking, she allowed the friendly robot to guide her to the next class. </p><p> </p><p>In contrast to science, the Dupont math curriculum was advanced for Kagami. However, with Markov’s help, she was able to complete most of her assignments. As she laboriously punched divots into her paper, she resolved to thank her mother as soon as she returned home; her years of training were paying dividends. The class would have been impossible without proficiency in braille.</p><p> </p><p>Then class dismissed and Marinette was back where she belonged on Kagami’s arm. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you want to do for lunch?” Marinette whispered.</p><p> </p><p>“I suppose I shall dine with your classmates,” said Kagami.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette stumbled without warning. Her klutziness was matched by her care, and she let go of Kagami’s arm so as not to drag the blind girl down with her. Kagami listened to her cry out and bang noisily against a panel of metal lockers. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m okay! I’m okay!” Marinette insisted. She scuffled, apparently needing several attempts to find her feet again, before hurrying back to Kagami’s side. </p><p> </p><p>“Tripped over nothing. Hah! So clumsy, right, Kagami?”</p><p> </p><p>“I apologize,” Kagami said calmly. “I thought that my surprise attendance would be an amusing joke, but instead I disrupted your routine and intruded--”</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami, what on <em>Earth</em> are you talking about?” replied Marinette, genuinely mystified.</p><p> </p><p>“You tripped because you’re upset that I am forcing myself on the time you dedicate to your classmates.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami was surprised by a sudden kiss from Marinette. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said once she was done, and Kagami believed her. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry for--”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be,” said Marinette. </p><p> </p><p>A nudge to Kagami’s arm got them moving again. Focused on the conversation, Kagami resigned herself to simply following. She’d pay attention to memorizing the path another day. </p><p> </p><p>Once they’d found their rhythm, Marinette began to explain. “I tripped because I was upset, but I was upset <em>for</em> you, not <em>at</em> you. What you said, that you wanted to dine with ‘my’ classmates? It made me sad. Because even though you’re only in school for these last two weeks, they’re <em> our </em> classmates. Not just mine. I don’t want you to think of them only as my friends. I don’t want them to think of you as nothing but my girlfriend, either. They’re amazing and you’re amazing and you should be able to be amazing together, even when I’m not around. You deserve <em>friends,</em> Kagami, and I get sad when you forget that.”</p><p> </p><p>Friends were one of the last things on Kagami’s mind. She had a surplus of practice matters to worry about. And, she was frankly satisfied with her current retinue. Even without counting Marinette, her connection with Doo Ri and her reinvented relationship with Adrien constituted more friendships than she’d had in the previous five years combined.</p><p> </p><p>But Marinette drew strength from her friendships, and Kagami was in need of strength as she transitioned to her new life. And besides, Marinette’s caring warmed Kagami’s heart, and she’d despair if her distance caused Marinette pain. So, for Marinette’s sake. Kagami would try making friends. </p><p> </p><p>How hard could it possibly be?</p><p> </p><p>------</p><p> </p><p>“So then the blonde chick is like, <em> zoom, </em>but she’s on the outside of the curve, so I know that I can steal the inside lane if I can just stay on my skates after the hurdle. You shoulda seen it! Err… crap… I mean, you shoulda been there!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m certain that--”</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds just like the maneuver in Airskaitz when you press Up and B while playing as Kyo. Did you play many video games while in Japan?”</p><p> </p><p>“I seldom had the--”</p><p> </p><p>“And so I was thinking like, <em> shooka boom,</em> or maybe more like, <em>boom shooka whoom</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m unfamiliar with that genre of--</p><p> </p><p>“Babe, you’re making backgrounds for Ladyblog snippets, not EDM videos! Kagami, have you read many of my articles?”</p><p> </p><p>“Some,” Kagami said, finally completing a sentence. It seemed single-word answers were all she was allowed before the group’s conversation steamed ahead.</p><p> </p><p>She’d give Marinette’s classmates this much: their efforts at inclusivity were earnest. But they were overbearing in volume and underwhelming in content, leaving little for Kagami to connect with. The people in the group cycled in and out of conversations with her, one another, and other chats at the same table. Kagami’s only relief from the onslaught was when her mouth was full of rice ball, the boring lunch she was stuck with until she became fully proficient in blind chopsticks. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette was seated next to her but was actively avoiding interfering, engaging instead in a music-related conversation with Ivan and Juleka. However, Marinette did make sure to squeeze Kagami’s hand every few minutes. Her support was the only thing that kept Kagami at the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Kagami, wanna hear some cool tunes? Gotta get you into the music scene somehow, dudette?” Nino, Adrien’s friend, was polite enough not to touch her, but the headphones he offered her were turned so loud that she could hear them next to her ear.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually, I should go,” Kagami said, and the table hushed. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” said a girl--Kagami was still learning names and voices, was it Mylène? </p><p> </p><p>“It’s nothing you did.” Kagami was stretching the truth, though she wouldn’t go so far as to call it a lie. “I am stressed and struggling. I need quiet time to meditate and center myself.”</p><p> </p><p>“We all understand,” Marinette said. “I’ll take you someplace quiet.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami’s stomach curled up in a guilty knot. </p><p> </p><p>It was a ridiculous reaction. It was her first day; no sane person would expect her to come out of it with a phone full of contacts. She wasn’t a social person under any circumstance, and she had too many things to do to waste time on frivolities.</p><p> </p><p>And yet… her isolation was making Marinette sad. </p><p> </p><p>And perhaps, her isolation was making herself sad, as well. Truly, having Doo Ri visit had been a high point of her day. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami swallowed, and did one of the hardest things she’d ever done: she reached out. </p><p> </p><p>“That will not be necessary,” Kagami said. “If any of your--<em>our</em>--classmates meditate, or would like to try, I would be honored to share my techniques with them.”</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds awesome,” Juleka drawled. “I’ve been trying to meditate a lot lately, and Luka’s mantras are getting stale.”</p><p> </p><p>Max declined. “I appreciate that offer, but as a thinker, I find the idea of trying <em>not</em> to think unpleasant.”</p><p> </p><p>“And I don’t like the quiet,” Nino added. “But hey, Mylène, you were saying you thought meditation would help you chill after the whole Horrificator thing. Did you ever follow up on that, dudette?”</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t,” Mylène said. . “But… now’s as good a time as ever, I guess? It’s very kind of you to offer that, Kagami. I can help you find a quiet room?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami stood, folded her cane under one arm, and held out the other. Mylène timidly approached and entwined their elbows--she’d seen Marinette do it for Kagami, and before that Kagami for Marinette, so she was a quick study. The oddest thing, however, was her height; Kagami was used to being the shortest one in her class, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that was no longer the case.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need anything?” Marinette’s voice was musical with relief, but Kagami also detected an undertone of nervousness. Marinette’s nature was to nurture. She was giving Kagami space, but Kagami knew she was at war with her own doubts. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be fine,” Kagami answered, leaning slightly into the tiny girl beside her. “I’m in the company of friends.”</p><p> </p><p>-----</p><p> </p><p>That afternoon had been filled with more doctors and more lawyers, leaving Kagami yearning for the company she could not have. On top of that, Marinette had somehow slept through Kagami’s wake-up call the next morning. To Kagami’s consternation, the one quick kiss they shared before class was the only contact they’d be free to have before lunch. </p><p> </p><p>Still, she resisted the temptation to cheat--and yes, asking for Marinette’s help in school would be cheating. Marinette was too kind, and too skilled, for Kagami to grow while relying on her care. So, heart aching, Kagami left Marinette’s warmth and made her own way into class. She was a long way from mastering the school’s layout, but the classroom was fairly simple. She got to her seat without help and settled in. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay class!” Two days was not enough to prove a pattern, but Kagami expected the teacher’s positive cheerfulness to become unbearable before the year was out. “We’ll begin the day, as always, with positive affirmations. Once I pull names out of this hat, you and your partner will each say something kind about the other. Are you ready?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, mademoiselle!” the class chorused.</p><p> </p><p>“The first pair are… Kagami Tsurugi… and… Mari… umm…” Kagami heard the shuffling of papers. “Ma...mademoiselle Harpele!”</p><p> </p><p>Kissing Marinette in front of the class had left an impression, it seemed. Kagami couldn’t decide whether to smile or frown. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami turned towards her newly assigned partner. “Mylène, you are…” the first thought was <em>good at guiding me</em>, but that was defining herself in terms of her disability. She would not do that. So she wracked her brain, unsure of the social conventions governing the classroom. “... a good listener,” she finished lamely.</p><p> </p><p>It worked. </p><p> </p><p>“And you were a good speaker,” Mylène said, with a warmth that Kagami was not used to hearing from anyone but Marinette and Adrien. Even her few friendships back in Japan hadn’t been half so emotive.  “I felt more relaxed than I have in ages. I hope we can do some meditation again soon?”</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette and I plan to lunch together this afternoon,” Kagami said. “But perhaps Friday?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sure!”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m in, too,” Juleka whispered. </p><p> </p><p>“It will be an honor.” Kagami sat, satisfied at her progress, and listened to the teacher announce another pair. </p><p> </p><p>The class’ ritual was quick and without incident, for the most part. Juleka complimented Max’s smarts, and he her hair; Ivan and Kim did some macho posturing about size and muscles; and Alya and Nino got to be lovey-dovey, since the teacher didn’t see fit to break <em> that </em>couple up.  </p><p> </p><p>But then, the teacher pulled Adrien and Chloé’s names.</p><p> </p><p>“Those new earrings really suit you,” Adrien said. </p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, I’m glad you noticed! They’re Tiffany, limited edition, Daddy had them specially imported from New York! Very expensive. Kagami’s the only other girl in class who <em>might</em> be able to afford them.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Leave me out of this, </em>thought Kagami.</p><p> </p><p>“Your turn, Chloé.” Adrien was good at hiding exasperation, but not perfect.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, Adrikins. You are <em>perfect</em> boyfriend material! Good looking, rich, smart, athletic, rich, and generally an amazing match for someone like me!”</p><p> </p><p>“Chloé!” screeched Marinette. </p><p> </p><p><em>Old habits die hard,</em> Kagami mused.</p><p> </p><p>“What, jealous?” the imperious brat retorted. “Aren’t you and Kagami a thing now? Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts already!”</p><p> </p><p>“I… but… you…” Marinette sputtered in impotent fury. </p><p> </p><p>“You backed down, Dupain-Cheng - not that you ever had a chance. You don’t have a say anymore. Now stop making your girlfriend upset and let me and Adrikins be!”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not… you know that’s…” Marinette was working herself into an anxious tizzy. “Kagami? Help!” </p><p> </p><p>Adrien still flustered Marinette. Kagami accepted this, as she would be dishonest to criticize Marinette for a failing she herself shared. Kagami considered, then ruled out, kissing her; the teacher was still watching, and besides, Marinette pouncing on her every time Adrien entered the room would make Kagami’s friendship with the model difficult to maintain. In the end, there was only one way to respond.</p><p> </p><p>“Sometimes you forget your own strength,” Kagami said. “But you are strong. You do not require my help.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette paused. Kagami heard the sound of her breath slowing and could visualize Marinette’s blue eyes cinching shut in concentration. She <em>was</em> strong. She just had to remember it.</p><p> </p><p>When Marainette next spoke, it was with the same iron that Kagami had fallen in love with.</p><p> </p><p> “Adrien,” Marinette said, ignoring Chloé completely. <em>A good start,</em> Kagami thought. “I l...ike Kagami a lot, and I’m still working out what that means for me and you. But no matter what, I care about you too much to watch you date someone by <em>default. </em> Chloé’s not <em>entitled</em> to you. No one is. If she is what you want, then I wish you luck. But if she’s not… you’re allowed to be a little selfish and say no, even to your friends.”</p><p> </p><p>There was another silent pause, the whole class processing Marinette’s speech. Mlle. Bustier was the first to speak, attempting to bring the class back on track, but before the first syllable left her mouth, Chloé erupted into shrieking. </p><p> </p><p>“Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! Adrikins and I--”</p><p> </p><p>“Are <em>friends</em>,” said the boy in question. “We’re friends. Or at least, I want us to be. But you make it hard sometimes, Chloé.”</p><p> </p><p>“But Adrikins--”</p><p> </p><p>“Please don’t call me that.” </p><p> </p><p>He was in pain. Though his romantic ideation of Ladybug was imaginary, the loss of the dream still hurt, and talk of dating salted the wound. Moreover, his misguided nostalgia for his isolated youth led him to think of Chloé as a friend, and like Marinette, he hated denying anything to his friends.</p><p> </p><p>Yet he spoke with a certain confidence Kagami rarely heard from him off the piste. <em>Good,</em> she thought. From what she’d seen of the Bourgeois child, this conversation was long in coming. </p><p> </p><p>Chloé, unfortunately, wasn’t taking it well, if the incomprehensible groaning and wheezing was any indication. Kagami didn’t need to see her to know she was turning red. </p><p> </p><p>Mlle. Bustier finally interjected. “Now, children. When possible, I permit you to resolve these issues among yourselves. It’s an important part of growing up. But I believe we’ve all said what needs to be said, and the clock is ticking away. If anyone would like me to moderate a further discussion, I’ll gladly assist a calm conversation <em>after class</em>. For now, we have an assignment.” She tapped the board. “I hope everyone remembers these three points!”</p><p> </p><p>Chairs scraped on the floor and backpacks rustled as class began. Chloé was still audibly huffing, but Kagami ignored her and readied her braille punch cards. She felt Juleka leaning in to her, but was still slightly startled by her whisper. </p><p> </p><p>“That was a buzzkill. You okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Your concern is appreciated,” Kagami answered. When Juleka didn’t reply, she considered that her response might have been interpreted as curt, and chose to elaborate. “I trust Marinette. I do not begrudge her the time she needs to let past flames die. As for Adrien, I’m proud of him. Perhaps Chloé will do better without him enabling her most antisocial behaviours.”</p><p> </p><p>“Cool. I--”</p><p> </p><p>“We are in class,” Kagami said quickly. She had already lost the thread of Bustier’s lesson. And with her constant ‘this’ and ‘that,’ Kagami might never catch it. “I need my ears.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Juleka said. Her pencil scratched on her paper, taking notes on something else that the teacher had written on the board. </p><p> </p><p>“Markov?” Kagami requested, holding out her hand. An earbud lowered into her palm, and she split her attention between the teacher’s words and his narration. She frowned, then grimaced, then scowled, as the point of the lesson slipped further and further away from her. </p><p> </p><p>The drone made Kagami lose track of time, but ten-ish minutes into the class, Juleka began to whisper. “Umm, Mlle. Bustier?” </p><p> </p><p>Kagami sighed internally. For a rock star, the girl had no confidence. It ran in the family, it seemed. </p><p> </p><p>“Mlle. Bustier?” she whispered again. The teacher prattled on, unhearing. </p><p> </p><p>Juleka’s nails tapped on the table several times. Then, a massive intake of breath warned Kagami to raise her hands to her ears. She covered them just in time. “Mlle. Bustier!” Juleka bellowed with force that would have done an elephant proud.</p><p> </p><p>The teacher’s chalk screeched on the board. Once she had comported herself, Mlle. Bustier replied sweetly. “Yes, Juleka?” </p><p> </p><p>Though Kagami could not see the class, she could imagine the weight of their stares upon the table she shared with Juleka. Her desk partner moved her chair, stood, and spoke. “Mlle. Bustier? You just said ‘that’ and pointed to the blackboard?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, I’m sorry. Was I moving too fast for you?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, not for me, but… Kagami can’t see you pointing.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami blinked. </p><p> </p><p>Pragmatically, Kagami was less than pleased to have someone speaking for her. It set the stage for her to be viewed as helpless. It robbed her of control over her own education. And yet…</p><p> </p><p>And yet…</p><p> </p><p>The shy girl had made herself the center of attention, just for Kagami’s benefit. Maybe, just perhaps, there was something to this ‘friendship’ after all.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my,” Bustier gasped. “Is that… have I really been doing that?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami demurred. “It’s not necessary for you too--”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette stepped in quickly. “You did it with me too, teacher. It was hard to follow.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, dear me! Kagami, you have my deepest apologies.”</p><p> </p><p>More attention. The issue needed to end, so Kagami accepted diplomatically. “I am not the only one learning about blindness,” she said. “You will adapt in time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well we don’t have time to waste!” she said. “Class, I’m counting on all of you to help break me of my bad habits. Every classmate is important, and every classmate needs to be included! So, let’s practice. Ahem: And so, the main conflict of the story is the battle between these two--”</p><p> </p><p>When the whole class asked “Which two?” in unison, Kagami couldn’t help but smile.</p><p> </p><p>“A good question! Between Dantes and Mandego, old rivals…”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami removed Markov’s earbud and listened intently, at last able to follow the lecture.</p><p> </p><p>------</p><p> </p><p>The Akuma Alert sounded twenty minutes later.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami heard a dozen phones being checked at once. Then the teacher said, “The alert appears to be across town. Sorry, students, you’re stuck with me until the bell!”</p><p> </p><p>“Mademoiselle Bustier?” said Adrien. “I need to use the bathroom.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, Adrien. Please hurry back.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll do my best!”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette followed up. “Umm, Mlle. Bustier?”</p><p> </p><p>“Can you hold it, Marinette?” she said. “I’d like to keep it to one student out at a time.”</p><p> </p><p><em>What awful timing,</em> Kagami thought. She knew, of course, that Marinette didn’t need the facilities, except as a private place to transform. But Adrien’s ill-timed request left Marinette stuck. Kagami could hear her hemming, fishing for an excuse. Was this what her life was like every day?</p><p> </p><p><em>For the good of Paris,</em> Kagami thought. Her mother had raised her to be proud and dignified. However, her mother had also raised her to kill emotions when they interfered with the task at issue. </p><p> </p><p>Raising her hand, Kagami said, “Actually, teacher, I need Marinette’s help with something. Urgently.”</p><p> </p><p>Kim barged into the conversation. “Oh, you two planning to sneak off and bump uglies in secret?”</p><p> </p><p><em>I question your taste in men, Doo Ri,</em> she thought. But she let nothing show on her face. Murdering her own shame, she turned to Kim and spoke calmly. “We could not do so in secret. ‘Bumping uglies,’ as you put it, would be obvious and extremely messy if I did it at this time of month.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence like death settled over the class.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh god,” retched Kim. “I’m going to be sick.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, man up, Kim, it’s just a little blood!” That was Alix, Kagami thought, though she was still pinning names to faces--or rather, to voices. “Hey ‘Gami, you all supplied up?”</p><p> </p><p>“I came to class prepared, but thank you for your kindness. Mlle. Bustier?”</p><p> </p><p>“Go, go!” said the teacher, embarrassed on Kagami’s behalf. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami took off her subvocal microphone and left it on her desk. The robot took the hint, and did not follow when Marinette hastily led her down from her desk and out the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my God I can’t believe you did that,” Marinette whispered as the door closed behind them.</p><p> </p><p>“You are needed,” Kagami answered. “And you are a terrible liar.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know, I know!” she said. “But it’s hard to get good at something that I despise. I don’t <em>want</em> to be skilled at deceiving my friends, even when it’s for their own safety.”</p><p> </p><p>As if to prove herself a quick study of the things she did care to try, Marinette expertly nudged Kagami around a corner and through the bathroom door in a fraction of the time it had taken Juleka to lead her yesterday. They were… what was the French term?... ‘In sync’ with each other, and Kagami trusted Marinette absolutely. </p><p> </p><p>“Anyone in here?” Marinette called out. No one answered. “Phew. All right, let’s figure out what we’re dealing with… you’re kidding me. The Akuma’s called <em>`Lactose Intolerance’</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hawk Moth must be running out of ideas,” Kagami commented.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe. Ummm… before I go… do you <em>actually</em> need my help with...?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami felt the blood rushing to her cheeks at the thought. Fortunately, thank the kami in heaven, the answer was <em>no</em>. “I am capable of maintaining my own hygiene.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette sighed in relief. “Oh thank God.”</p><p> </p><p>“However…” Kagami grimaced slightly. She did not care for admitting weakness. “Once I am done, I will need to borrow your eyes. I cannot check my clothing for spotting.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.That much I can do, no problem.” Marinette patted Kagami’s cheek. “Well, I better go. I’ve got work to do. Tikki, spots on! Oh yuck, that sounds totally different now!”</p><p> </p><p>“Be safe, Ladybug.” Kagami wasn’t precisely scared. Ladybug was a hero of spectacular talent, and Hawk Moth’s daily akuma attacks seldom represented any real danger. Still, as Ladybug opened a window and yo-yo’ed away, Kagami was accompanied by a faint sense of worry. </p><p> </p><p><em>I am dating a superhero,</em> she thought, using her hands and cane to find a stall. <em>She is amazing and powerful. I will relax, live my life, and wait for her return.</em></p><p> </p><p>Kagami took care of her feminine business, disposed of the waste, straightened her clothing, and washed her hands. She took her phone from her pocket. Then, she put it back. Listening to the blow-by-blow would only amplify the stress of waiting. </p><p> </p><p>Her discipline was mooted, however, when someone else entered the bathroom with a phone playing the same feed that Kagami had resisted. “And Ladybug activates her lucky charm,” Nadja Chamack narrated. “It’s a… reusable shopping bag? How will the hero of Paris use it to defeat this villain? She seems as confused as we are. And <em>oh,</em> she narrowly dodges another stream of milk!”</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh,” said the phone’s owner in a painfully familiar sneering tone. “You akumatized a <em>breastfeeding mom</em>? Scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren’t you, Hawk Moth?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>You,</em>” Kagami hissed.</p><p> </p><p>The other bathroom-goer paused, then silenced her phone. Kagami heard the girl’s flats pad across the bathroom, stopping entirely too close to Kagami’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami!” said Lila, dripping with faux concern. “I was so, so, sorry to hear about your eyes!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry to… <em>hear</em> about it?” Kagami’s whole body was a livewire of agitation. And with Marinette elsewhere, it was up to Kagami to face <em>this</em> villain alone. </p><p> </p><p>The villain in question was unfazed. “Oh, Kagami. I forgive you for what you told the police. Your eyes were already failing, and after that huge misunderstanding with that photo of me and Adrien…”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami couldn’t see Lila, so she was spared the temptation of punching the grin clean off her face. Instead, she hissed, “what are you playing at, you disgusting liar?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing at all!” Lila said. The superficial facade of friendliness remained, betrayed by a dark undercurrent of sarcastic spite in her voice. “I’ve only got a few weeks left in Paris, and I want to make the <em>most</em> of them. After all the <em>unpleasantness</em> I <em>accidentally</em> caused you and Marinette, I hope I have a chance to <em>repay</em> you in full for the inconvenience.”</p><p> </p><p>If she’d hoped to provoke a reaction from Kagami, she’d chosen the wrong girl. Kagami’s anger boiled inside her like a steam engine, but all that escaped was a hiss of quiet, and carefully chosen, words.</p><p> </p><p>“When you took my eyesight, you took away a huge portion of my life. But you also forfeited one of your strongest weapons: sympathy. You cannot play the pathetic victim anymore. My pathos trumps yours. If you claim that the helpless blind girl assaulted you in the bathroom, no one will believe you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m doubly wounded, Kagami!” Lila’s cloying act was giving Kagami a headache. Fortunately, the liar stepped back from her, turning on a sink by the door. “First, that you could <em>possibly</em> think I’d come after Marinette. I’d never dream of it, however cruel she is to me!”</p><p> </p><p>Something was wrong. The sink was running, but Lila wasn’t washing. Whatever she <em>was</em> doing, it was quiet enough for the running water to drown it out. </p><p> </p><p>“Second,” Lila added. This time, her cruelty was undisguised. “I’m insulted that you think I’m a one-trick pony. You don’t really think that crocodile tears are the <em>only</em> trick in my arsenal, do you? If I wanted to destroy someone--which naturally, I don’t!--I have plenty of alternatives to the wounded gazelle gambit.”</p><p> </p><p>Tomoe Tsurugi had taught that zanshin came easiest when threatened. In response to this threat, it came to Kagami. Her senses sang to life, informing her of the thumping of Lila’s excited heartbeat, the echo of the metal stall doors, the heat of the sunlight beaming in from the open window…</p><p> </p><p>...and the scent of the slick puddle of soap, expertly positioned by the door to trip Kagami on her way out. </p><p> </p><p>“You have misunderstood me,” Kagami stated with lethal calm. She folded her telescoping cane into thirds and walked a circuitous path around the spill, stopping at the door. “When I said you can’t make people believe that the blind girl assaulted you in the bathroom, I was not referencing your pathological dishonesty.” She jammed her folded cane through the door handles, then rattled the door to make sure it was good and stuck. </p><p> </p><p>“What the…” said Lila. Kagami could smell her fear. Good.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami turned to face Lila. “What I meant was, if you try to persuade them that I hurt you, no one will believe your story…” </p><p> </p><p>She cracked her knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>“...<em>even if it’s true.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>-----</p><p> </p><p>Fifteen minutes later, Lila had been ejected from the bathroom, the bell had rung, and the dizziness from <em> zanshin </em>had passed. A creaking windowsill revealed Ladybug to Kagami, and after a few seconds pause to make sure the bathroom was again unoccupied, she leapt in and detransformed. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you well?” Kagami asked with open arms. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette hugged her warmly. “Fine. Didn’t have any trouble. I kinda want to hang that cafe owner upside down with a yo-yo, though. What kind of jerk refuses to let a newborn eat lunch along with his mama?”</p><p> </p><p>“I shall refrain from giving that store my business, then.” Without letting go of the hug, she asked, “how is he?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh! He’s totally completely fine and he says hi!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami kissed Marinette’s cheek. “You’re a terrible liar.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette groaned. “Okay. He’s completely fine, and he says if you’re not treating me right I should tell him so he can cataclysm you. And I told him you were amazing and brave, but I wish he could truly understand <em>how</em> brave, and…”</p><p> </p><p>A kiss on the lips silenced her.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, <em>ma Mousquetaire.</em> I needed that.” Marinette held Kagami out at arms length. “Still need me to check your clothes?” Kagami nodded, and Marinette did a quick circle around her. “Oh. Umm. Your leggings are fine, but… somehow, you got a little blood on the cuff of your shirt?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami rubbed her sore knuckles. “Oh. I wonder how that happened.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think it’s going to come out,” Marinette said. “But under the circumstances, Principal Damocles will have no problem with us stepping out to fix it. My house is literally around the corner, I can find a shirt that fits you.”</p><p> </p><p>“That seems like the best solution.”</p><p> </p><p>“Umm…” Marinette paused. “Do you want to try to get out of the building on your own? How well do you have the place mapped?”</p><p> </p><p>“Fairly well, but please stick close by.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great, then let me get the dooo-ooo-ooor!” </p><p> </p><p><em> Lila’s soap! Chikusho! </em>“Marinette, are you--”  But she was blind, and her time limit had passed. She had no help to give. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m fi-i-ine!” Marinette caterwauled, somehow skidding <em> back </em>across the room towards the open window. </p><p> </p><p>“Marinette?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami heard a thump of flesh impacting the far wall, and then another familiar sound of a body somersaulting. “I’m oka-a-a-ay!” Marinette wailed, rolling past Kagami and finally coming to a stop at the door. “S-someone spilled some soap. B-but… we were heading to my place anyway, so… guess I’ll change too? Don’t move.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami listened to her girlfriend yank a fistful of paper towels from the dispenser and scrub on her hands and knees. “All clean! Ready to go?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami nodded, and began her slow trek from the building over freshly cleaned tiles. </p><p> </p><p>------</p><p> </p><p>The exit took ten minutes, fifteen if one counted the time Marinette and Kagami spent convincing Principal Damocles it was safe for them to leave. Once Kagami could feel the summer sun caressing her skin, she offered her arm. Marinette took it. </p><p> </p><p>They took three steps before Marinette stopped.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no! Did someone get hurt?” Marinette asked, and Kagami’s ears picked up the slam of an ambulance door and the blaring of its siren.</p><p> </p><p>Mlle. Mendeleiev, who was presumably seeing Lila out, gave an answer. “Poor Signora Rossi had another unfortunate incident with the stairs, it seems. I never bought her first story, but she was definitely hurt this time around. Mentioned something about a loose step and her mother’s lawyers. Damocles is in a tizzy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no,” Marinette gasped. “I hope she’s not seriously injured?”</p><p> </p><p>“It would be unscientific for me to speak on behalf of medical professionals. But in my unscientific opinion, she’s got a split lip and some bruising. I’ve seen worse injuries from scraps in the stands of football games.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no,” Marinette said again. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami frowned, and followed Marinette pensively as she led her down the stairs and to the crosswalk. An automated French voice informed her that traffic was still flowing and she should not cross. Waiting, she said, “You have sympathy for Lila?” </p><p> </p><p>“I…” Marinette stopped, considering her words. “I guess I don’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why...?”</p><p> </p><p>“Reflex, I guess. I don’t like the idea of people getting hurt. I abhor seeing people in pain,” she answered. “Even though it’s a sure bet that if Lila is <em> claiming </em>to have fallen down the stairs, the truth is something else entirely. And she was probably asking for it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good,” Kagami said. “I’m glad we agree.”</p><p> </p><p>With a high-pitched beep, the crossing light asked Kagami to cross. She took a single step. Marinette did not move with her, and their entwined elbows held Kagami in place. “Marinette?”</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami.” Marinette’s stern words called to mind her alter-ego. “Do you know anything about her injuries?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Ah. I suppose our synchronicity has its downsides. I will have to acclimate to having no secrets from her.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Kagami folded her cane so she could put both hands on Marinette’s arm. “You know that I love you, yes, Marinette?” Kagami asked in lieu of providing a complete answer.</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami…”</p><p> </p><p>“And you know that I will not lie to you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I…” Marinette hesitated, then kissed Kagami’s cheek with a sigh. “I do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then with that in mind,” Kagami said. “You should take care to ask me questions only if you truly want to know the answer.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette neither spoke nor moved. The recorded voice in the street counted down her time to cross, then reached zero and warned her that she had missed her opportunity. Cars began to shuffle through the intersection again, a low rumble of engines interspersed with the smoky growl of a few larger trucks. </p><p> </p><p>When the light changed again, Marinette gently nudged Kagami forward into the crosswalk. </p><p> </p><p>“She did deserve it, didn’t she?” Marinette’s tone was inscrutable.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not my place to judge,” Kagami said. “I can only hope that the incident will keep her from attacking you again.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re the one who got hurt!”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re the one who was targeted. My blindness was happenstance.”</p><p> </p><p>“Curb!” Marinette shouted. She hopped, and the last-second warning prevented Kagami from tripping. Once they were both on solid footing on the sidewalk, they turned in the direction of the bakery. But neither took the first step.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so honest with me,” Marinette whispered. “And I wasn’t honest this morning, with Chloé and Adrien. I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“There is no need to apologize. I, too, hold some residual affection for Adrien. These things do not pass overnight.” Kagami’s words were meant to convince herself, not Marinette, but hopefully the pigtailed girl would not see that. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s not what I meant. I mean, it’s good that you understand. He’s not you, but he’s still special, and you’re even more special, but... I’m babbling.”</p><p> </p><p>Although the expression was inappropriate to the subject matter, Kagami smiled. “You do that sometimes. It’s cute.” </p><p> </p><p>Marinette nuzzled their cheeks together. “Thanks. And we should talk later. About him. And being friends with him <em> and absolutely nothing more. </em> But that’s not what I was talking about. What I’m saying is... I chose you because you broke me of my worst habits. You pushed me through my worst fears. I don’t want to go back to being the Marinette who was too scared to talk to her crush. The Marinette from before I knew you. But this morning, that’s who I was.”</p><p> </p><p>The deluge of words rushed past Kagami, and she tried to make sense of them. “I don’t understand?”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette gently turned Kagami around. She slid her palm down Kagami’s arm, and took her other hand as well, holding them gently. Kagami imagined her blue eyes staring soulfully.</p><p> </p><p>“I told Chloé that I like you. Because I was afraid of my own feelings. And it was a lie. Because the truth is, what I should have said was… that I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>Even years later, Kagami would not fully grasp what went on in her head when she heard those words. Every thought and emotion she’d felt in their short-but-tumultuous relationship flooded her all at once, paralyzing her. And ultimately, doubt won out. </p><p> </p><p>“Marinette, you don’t need to make me feel better--”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not!”</p><p> </p><p>“--and you shouldn’t rush ahead in our relationship just to pity my feelings--”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d never!”</p><p> </p><p>“--so please, save the words for when you mean them--”</p><p> </p><p>“Kagami. Listen to me. Look at--err--feel how serious my face is.” She lifted Kagami’s palm to her cheeks, though the gesture was symbolic, and Kagami’s fingers could not make out her features. “I… I promised I’d take care of you, and that was a terrible mistake. Because you don’t need to be taken care of. But you do need to hear my new promise. Kagami, I will make you happy. I swear it. I swear on my name. I swear on my yo-yo. I swear on my soul. I will keep you happy for as long as you will have me. I will stay by your side and guard your happiness in this life, and in the next. This I swear, by everything I’ve ever held dear.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami’s heart stopped in her chest. </p><p> </p><p>“I… recall saying something similar to you, once,” she said through her dry mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>might</em> have written your oath down word-for-word in my diary,” Marinette said, seriousness abandoned in an eyeblink. “And I <em>might</em> read it to myself every night before sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami’s cheeks ached from the size of her smile. “You appear to know it by heart.” </p><p> </p><p>“I <em>might</em> have read it over and over on the day you made it, too? Maybe five or six… dozen… times?”</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette,” said Kagami, shaking her head with bemusement.</p><p> </p><p>“But that’s not important! All that really matters is that you believe me. I love you, Kagami Tsurugi.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami pulled on her hands, embraced her, kissed her on the lips.</p><p> </p><p>“And I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Disaster!” gasped Nadja Chamack. “A dozen puff pastries fall, setting Mme. Cheng back minutes! Three are on the floor, they’re lost, and she’s rushing back to collect replacements. The main structure of the croquembouche is sound, though, and as soon as she returns with the excess puffs, she’s right back to pinning them in place. Look at her go! Such precision! Such grace!”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooooh, I can’t take this!” Marinette squealed. “It’s down to the wire. Come on, maman, you can do it!”</p><p> </p><p>“Have faith in your mother, dearie.” Gina Dupain spoke with matronly kindness. It would have created a false impression for Kagami, had the blind girl not heard her roaring motorcycle and felt her leather riding gloves minutes earlier. </p><p> </p><p>“Not too much faith, though, cupcake,” Tom added jovially. “Wouldn’t do for the world to think your mother was a better baker than me. I mean, she is, but no need for it to be on the six o’clock news.”</p><p> </p><p>Mme. Chamack  hadn’t stopped narrating. “And she’s caught back up, still on record pace, but with just twelve minutes to go, another error like that could cost her. And that’s row 38 complete. She slowly removes her hands, and… it’s stable! Quickly, she’s back to the oven to grab another batch of puffs.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ooooh,” groaned Marinette. She and Kagami both held a loose plastic chain that cordoned off the kitchen and camera crews. Through its quivering, Kagami could feel Marinette’s jitters.</p><p> </p><p>“Where is Grandpere? He’s going to miss it!” Mariette said.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, Marinette,” Tom said. “Pop’s slow, but he’s timely. He’ll be here before the buzzer. Mama, will you...?” he said, turning to his mother.</p><p> </p><p>“I can be civil,” Mme. Dupain replied. “Come, Marinetta, Kagami. Let’s see if we can find the old codger outside.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette let the older generations take the lead, then took Kagami’s arm and led her towards the boulangerie storefront. On the way, she said, “I hope Nonna’s right about grandpere Rolland. He doesn’t adapt well to change. She said he would be perfectly fine with us dating, but… he cut off contact with his son for years, over <em>rice flour.</em> If I hadn’t found him, he and Papa still wouldn’t be talking.”</p><p> </p><p>“He doesn’t deserve your kindness, Marinette,” Kagami replied, keeping her voice low so Tom wouldn’t overhear. </p><p> </p><p>“He’s family. And <em>everyone</em> deserves kindness.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not if his bigotry makes you sad.”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’m sure things will work out fine. Papa and Nonna are on our side, so even in the worst case, it will be four-against-one.  Door ahead in three, two…”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette maneuvered them through the bakery doors and out onto the sidewalk. Outside, Tom could be heard bellowing. “Papa, hurry it up! You’re running behind!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami heard the slow rhythmic shuffling of slippers and the tap of a walking stick approaching.</p><p> </p><p>“I had to walk halfway across Paris from where I parked,” said a man whose voice made him sound <em>very</em> old. </p><p> </p><p>“Paris can be busy, but I’m surprised it was that packed,” Marinette said. “It’s usually not that hard to find a place to stick a scooter. It’s not like it’s a car or anything.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, there’s plenty of scooter spaces with those new-fangled card readers and paper passes. That’s not how it’s done! I had to drive for <em>kilometers</em> to find a proper meter that took coins!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Rolland,” groaned his ex-wife.</p><p> </p><p>“Now let’s hurry up and watch Sabine make some pastries,” he grunted.  Marinette, good to see you. And… who’s the blind girl?”</p><p> </p><p>“Grandpere?” Marinette’s earlier confidence in Rolland’s better nature seemed to have evaporated. “This is Kagami. My girlfriend. We’re dating.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re dating… a girl?” said Rolland.</p><p> </p><p>“Papa,” Tom tried to warn, but it was too late.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not how it’s done!”</p><p> </p><p>Gina thundered to Marinette’s defense. “Rolland Arnaut Laurent Vassily Dupain! Have you gone senile? This is our <em>granddaughter</em> you’re speaking to!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, don’t you throw my name at me, Gina,” said the grouch. Kagami could vaguely trace the direction of their voices, and it was clear they were getting right up in one another’s faces. “You lived through the same times as I did. Back in the day, girls dated boys. You know that! This isn’t how it was done!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami had no desire to interfere with a family dispute. She did, however, shift her body to put herself between Marinette and Rolland. It was irrational, of course, to think that the grouchy old man would turn violent against a loved one on a public street. But Kagami’s nature was to protect, and so protect she would.</p><p> </p><p>However, Gina abandoned the conflict entirely, speaking suddenly with deep worry. “Rolland… are you alright? Have you been to the doctor lately? I shouldn’t joke about senility, but...are you forgetting things? Have you forgotten Lily?”</p><p> </p><p>“Lily?” Marinette asked. </p><p> </p><p>“Your grandma’s old best friend,” the old man replied. “They were joined at the hip back in the day. Lily never thought I was good enough for Gina, bit my head off every time I tried courting her. Then Lily’s family made her move back to Italy. Gina cried and cried, and I had to bring bread and cookies to her room for weeks before I finally got her out of the house and on a date. I think they reconnected after Gina left me, but at that point it was none of my business. See? I can remember perfectly well. But what’s Lily got to do with Marinette’s ‘girlfriend’?”</p><p> </p><p>Gina inhaled sharply. “<em>Mama Mia,</em>” she slowly whispered. “<em>Mio Dio.</em> Forty-five years I’ve known you, Rolland, twenty-five of them as your wife. And this whole time, you thought she was my <em>friend</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, please, Gina,” grumped Rolland. “Before she left, you spent practically every evening visiting her, and half of your trips to my bakery ended with you talking about her. Do you really expect me to believe she was <em>not</em> your friend?”</p><p> </p><p>Gina’s lips smacked open and shut like a gaping fish. </p><p> </p><p>“<em>Deficiente,”</em> Gina said to the sky in disbelief. “<em>Idiota. Scemo. Asino.</em> How did I ever fall in love with this man?” Then, finally willing to address her ex directly, she exclaimed, “I expect you to believe she’s not my <em>friend</em> , Rolland, because I expect you to realize she’s my <em>lover</em>!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha… what?” Rolland’s confidence collapsed like a souffle after the over door had been slammed.</p><p> </p><p>And Gina kept slamming. “She ‘bit your head off’ because you were trying to poach her girl! I cried for weeks because she ripped my heart out and took it with her! I waited until the divorce was final before  moving into her villa so no one could say Gina Dupain was a two-timing woman! Forty five years. <em>Forty five years!</em> And this whole time, you never understood? How could anyone possibly be so dense?”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami tensed as a body approached her and Marinette at speed, but it was Gina, not Rolland. She heard Marinette whisper “shoulder,” as one of Gina’s hands found its way to Kagami’s upper arm, the other presumably resting on Marinette’s. </p><p> </p><p>“Marinetta, Kagami,” Gina soothed. “Don’t listen to the doddering coot. Girls loving girls <em>is</em> how it was done, back in the day.”</p><p> </p><p>“Th-thank you, Nonna,” Marinette said. She leaned over, and Kagami accepted a kiss to the cheek with gratitude.</p><p> </p><p>“In fact, girls loving girls is how it was done every single night,” Gina continued.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette stiffened. Nervously, she repeated, “Nonna?”</p><p> </p><p>“Usually, several times in a night!”</p><p> </p><p>“Nonna!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh God, mama, stop!” Said Tom, sounding like a teenager rather than the grown man he was.</p><p> </p><p>“Tom, <em>bambino</em>, you’re impossible!” Gina said with a chuckle. “First you tell me not to treat Marinetta like a child, now you want me stop treating her like an adult? She just had her eighteenth birthday! Or was it nineteenth, granddaughter?”</p><p> </p><p>“Errr… fifteenth?” Marinette gently corrected.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh.” A long, awkward pause was made all the heavier by the humid summer air. “Then forget that Nonna Gina said anything. But Kagami, my angel?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes… Nonna?” the unfamiliar term of endearment came trippingly off Kagami’s tongue.</p><p> </p><p>“You stick with my Marinetta and you won’t regret it. Because in a few years, when she’s older, Nonna Gina will tell her all the secrets to making you a <em>very</em> happy woman.”</p><p> </p><p>“I look forward to it,” Kagami said. Then she pressed her cheek to Marinette’s, savoring the warmth of the girl’s blush now that its color was denied to her. </p><p> </p><p>“Mom!” Tom shouted again. “Let’s get you back inside. Now! Don’t wanna miss Sabine’s victory lap, do we?” Tom hustled Gina away, back to the bakery, ignoring her wordless objections.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette hadn’t moved, and from her position, Kagami deduced that she was still staring at her grandfather. Kagami didn’t know where to begin to dismantle this familial entanglement, so she remained silent.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, Rolland spoke. “I should know better.” He was gruff and kept an unapologetic veneer, but the sharp edges of his anger had dulled completely. “My entire life, I had one girlfriend and one spouse, and I couldn’t even keep her. Who am I to instruct anyone about how love should be done?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, papi,” Marinette sighed. She left Kagami’s arm briefly, and Kagami heard Rolland grunt into her hug. Then, two sets of footsteps approached the blind fencer. </p><p> </p><p>“My hand’s at your eleven,” Rolland said. Following his instruction, Kagami accepted his handshake. “My granddaughter’s a special girl. You be good to her, you hear?”</p><p> </p><p>“I plan to, sir,” she said plainly. </p><p> </p><p>“And Marinette, I’ll tell you what I told your father at your age.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, papi?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you dare get her pregnant!”</p><p> </p><p>A growling, mortified Marinette dragged Kagami back to the bakery. Marinette’s exaggerated stomps only exacerbated the humor, and Kagami tittered the whole way.</p><p> </p><p>------</p><p> </p><p>“Done!” Sabine shouted, slamming her hand down on a buzzer.</p><p> </p><p>“And that’s it, one minute, twelve seconds faster than the current record!” called Nadja. “Judge?”</p><p> </p><p>The judge hustled over to the baking area. Something hummed and buzzed, some sort of electronic scanner, and then it beeped twice. “And the final measurement is… 201.5 cm. It’s confirmed! Mme. Sabine Cheng is the fastest of all time to build a 2-meter croquembouche, slipping under a record that’s stood since 1983!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami clapped demurely while Marinette, Tom, and Gina erupted into cheers. The room filled with the accompanying roar of an invisible crowd as Mme. Chamack hit play on a pre-recorded applause track. </p><p> </p><p>“As a reminder to our viewers, the results of this charity drive will be on display today at the bakery. Then, tomorrow, it will be moved to the Hotel Grand Paris, where it will serve as a centerpiece for the 20th anniversary gala of Andre and Audrey Bourgeois,” Mme. Chamack declared. “But for the moment, let’s talk with the woman of the hour. Mme. Cheng, congratulations!”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Nadja.” Sabine was short of breath. The odor of her sweat mingled with caramel and wafted past Kagami as the chef approached the edge of the cordon for her interview. </p><p> </p><p>“Mme. Cheng,  what prompted you to take on this massive culinary challenge?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s these two,” Sabine said, her voice as thick as the caramel holding her tower together. “Marinette? Kagami? Will you come here for a moment?” Sabine called. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami had planned on this outcome from the moment Sabine had informed her of the record attempt. She’d determined that she would tolerate it. Although she’d never been a fan of cameras, they were an unavoidable part of life when one was wealthy. The trick was to ignore them and act like they weren’t there. Now that she couldn’t see them, that was easier to accomplish. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami lifted the plastic chain of the cordon and slipped underneath, then held out a hand for Sabine to take. Instead, Sabine pounced, pulling Kagami’s whole body into a crushing hug alongside Marinette.  The hug grew larger as Tom wrapped his arms around all three of the women.</p><p> </p><p>Mme. Chamack’s ‘audience-in-a-can’ played a heartfelt “awww”.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami was coming to appreciate being treated as part of the family. But the Tsurugi household was one in which hugging did not exist, and she had limits to how much contact she could accept. Kagami was the first to squirm, and Marinette’s parents let them go. Kagami stepped back. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette spun Kagami by the shoulders to face the camera. Kagami smiled, but she was sure it looked unnatural.</p><p> </p><p>Sabine moved to Kagami’s side, slippers soft on the tile. “Kagami is my daughter’s girlfriend,” she said, “and she’s as good as family. They’ve only been together for a few weeks, but watching them spend time with one another, I’ve never seen a couple click the way they do--not even you and me, Tom! They support each other, they work together--Marinette’s even teaching Kagami to bake!”</p><p> </p><p>“And… I couldn’t see it. I wasn’t accepting. I said that it was a phase, a gimmick.” Sabine’s regret was palpable; if Kagami hadn’t already committed to forgiving her, this speech would have been persuasive. “I almost chased away my beloved daughter. It was the biggest failure I’ve ever made as a mother.”</p><p> </p><p>“Marinette? Kagami?” Sabine touched Kagami’s shoulder. “Two weeks ago, I bet your father a croquembouche that you two wouldn’t last a month. I don’t need to wait another two weeks to admit defeat. I can already see you together then, and far beyond. And I have never been happier to lose a bet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, Maman!” said a weepy Marinette, and then Kagami was once more crushed between three Dupain-Chengs. </p><p> </p><p>According to the day’s script, Kagami was due to explain the charitable nature of this spectacle. She’d memorized the prosaic mission statement of the Raito Foundation for the Visually Impaired, and after reciting it, she was to accept a giant prop check on the Foundation’s behalf.</p><p> </p><p>Just this once, she shirked her duty. </p><p> </p><p>There was hugging to be done, after all.</p><p> </p><p>-----</p><p> </p><p>Some time later, the adults had adjourned for wine, and the teens had gathered more of their own to continue their celebrations. Rose, Juleka, Alya, and Nino sat around a large table alongside Kagami and Marinette. Peppy old-style English tunes played from the little jukebox at their table. A round of milkshakes, served by a waitress peppering her language with badly-pronounced Americanisms, scented the air with vanilla and chocolate. </p><p> </p><p>Marinette was discussing a Chat Noir article on the Ladyblog with Alya, and her efforts to dodge Alya’s direct questions were making Kagami cringe. So, Kagami had turned her attention elsewhere and engaged Rose in a slow conversation in Japanese. Rose was picking up the language quickly, but it was obvious she was picking up bad habits from anime; her vocabulary and inflection sounded like a hostess at a maid cafe.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> And Utena finds a sword in Anthy’s… heart? Chest? What’s the right word? And then they... </em>“ Rose paused, then switched to French. “Kagami, you said the friend you invited was really tall, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” Kagami raised her hand to wave. “Doo Ri?” she called blindly into the crowd.</p><p> </p><p>“There you are!” she heard Doo Ri call back from across the room. “We’ll be right there.”</p><p> </p><p>“We?” Marinette asked Kagami. “I’m glad you’re reaching out to more people, but you didn’t tell me you had made any new friends.”</p><p> </p><p>“I haven’t,” Kagami said self-consciously. “I enjoy the company of our classmates; you taught me to do that.” That comment earned a kiss on the cheek, which Kagami repaid with a short-lived grin. Then, more somberly, she said, “Nevertheless, I’m not social in the same way as you are. I cannot bond as quickly as you do.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine, Kagami. Everyone is different. Though I think you’re selling yourself short. You, Juleka, and Mylene really seem to be hitting it off with your meditation club. But if it’s not someone new, then who did you ask to join--” Then Marinette gasped, as the pair of friends approached into view. “<em> Adrien?” </em></p><p> </p><p>Indeed, Kagami was by now on friendly terms with almost all of Marinette’s classmates, but she held a stricter definition of ‘friend’ than Marinette seemed to, and only two people met those criteria: Adrien and Doo Ri. So, when Marinette had encouraged her to invite friends along, Kagami had invited both of them. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami had questions as to why they’d arrived <em> together, </em> but that could wait for another day. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Marinette,” Adrien said uncomfortably. In Kagami’s mind’s eye, he was scratching the back of his head. “We left it off at ‘see you later,’ and according to Kagami, it should be ‘later’ by now. Hope that’s okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“I-I-I- that’s fine!” she said. “We’re happy to see you. <em> Meet </em>you! Ugh, I haven’t used that idiom in over a week!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami had predicted this outcome, and was willing to ride it out. She slid over, bumping against Marinette, triggering a domino effect of students shuffling to make room. The table was large enough to accommodate everyone, but only barely. Adrien, ever the gentleman, offered Doo Ri the chance to sit. Doo Ri, ever tall, said she’d fit better in the aisle. </p><p> </p><p>“Yo, dude, how’d you get out of your classes and shoots and stuff?  Nino asked, thumping Adrien on the shoulder. “It’s sweet that you made it. I figured it wasn’t even worth inviting you cause of your pops.”</p><p> </p><p>“Doo Ri and Kagami both have parents in the same social circles as my father,” Adrien said. “So I told him that I needed the time slot for a party they were both attending.”</p><p> </p><p>“And that worked?” </p><p> </p><p>“Well,” said Adrien, “I <em>might</em> have implied it was a formal gala rather than an ice cream social…”</p><p> </p><p>“He came here in a bow tie,” Doo Ri added. “He took it off as soon as we were out of sight of his driver. Shame. He looked dashing.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was just a tie,” Adrien said, almost bashful.</p><p> </p><p>“You look dashing without it, too,” said Marinette. Then, a little too quickly, she added, “but that’s just a compliment, not flirting! I don’t need to flirt with you because I’m head over heels in love with Kagami, so why am I even saying any of this, Marinette, get a grip--”</p><p> </p><p>“I shouldn’t be here,” Adrien said suddenly.</p><p> </p><p>Just as suddenly, Marinette stopped. “I… I’m screwing everything up again, aren’t I?” </p><p> </p><p><em>This has gone on long enough,</em>  thought. “Both of you, stop,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>She went unheeded. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re not, I am. Kagami said she wanted me here, and she’s a great friend so I obliged, but I didn’t give you your space and I can’t stand the thought of coming between you--”</p><p> </p><p>“--and she’s so amazing, and it’s wonderful how she smiles when she hears my voice, and you’re cute an all but at this point the panic is just <em>reflex</em>, and--”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami took a deep breath. Channeling her mother, she pounded her fist on the table. “I said <em>stop! </em>!”</p><p> </p><p>This time, they stopped. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami sighed.</p><p> </p><p> “This is ridiculous. You two are friends, and it is time for these old habits to break.”</p><p> </p><p>“Should we...go?” Juleka asked, barely audible.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“No. This will be over quickly. I refuse to waste my life waiting for these two to untangle their past. We will cut through this knot in a single stroke. Adrien?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, <em>sensei?</em> I mean, Kagami? God, you sounded like your mother for a second.”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami smiled. It was not a pretty smile, but it wasn’t meant to be. “Your concern for my relationship with Marinette is appreciated. It is also egotistical. You will <em> not </em>come between us.”</p><p> </p><p>Adrien gulped. “Umm… okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“And Marinette,” Kagami said, turning to her girlfriend. “It is fine to have lingering feelings towards Adrien. I have absolute faith in your love for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hand,” Marinette whispered, and she intertwined their fingers. “I’m in awe of your certainty, <em>ma Mousquetaire,</em> but I’ll never understand it. How… how can you say that, when Ad--Ad-- when<em> he</em> still makes me a gibbering wreck?”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you talk in your sleep,” Kagami answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? What’s that got to do with--”</p><p> </p><p>“Who are Emiko, Hiro, and Louis?”</p><p> </p><p>Marinette’s whole body stiffened, and her pigtails brushed Kagami’s face as she frantically moved her head side to side looking for an escape route that was not there. “Eep,” she squeaked, trapped.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami’s heart twinged with pity, but this temporary shame would do Marinette permanent good. </p><p> </p><p>“Well?” Kagami pressed.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re… our children? In our dream marriage. I’m sorry, I’m so weird!”</p><p> </p><p>At that point, Kagami’s sternness broke, and she stole a kiss from Marinette’s lips. </p><p> </p><p>“Your dreams tell me all I need to know about your heart. The last traces of a crush pale in comparison,” Kagami said. “And some remaining warmth for him will be beneficial, down the line.”</p><p> </p><p>“It will?” said Marinette. “But how… you’re the only one for me. Not Adrien. You know that, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Understand that I am answering… aspirationally. We are both young, and although we look forward, we cannot see the future. I am speaking of dreams, not commitments.”</p><p> </p><p>“O...okay,” said Marinette, confused, but willing to trust. Always willing to trust. Kagami squeezed her hand again. </p><p> </p><p>“I too dream of us starting a family.” Ignoring Rose’s ‘awww’ and Juleka subsequent ‘hush,’ Kagami pushed onwards. “I dream of children, and of providing for the fruits of our love as best as possible.” </p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, is this... should I leave you two alone?” Adrien asked.</p><p> </p><p>Doo Ri stepped in quickly. “Let her finish!” the Korean girl said. Doo Ri was privy to a few secrets that not even Marinette knew, and she could see where Kagami was heading. Kagami could imagine her smile as she waited for the punchline. </p><p> </p><p>Kagami would not disappoint. </p><p> </p><p>She lifted Marinette’s hand to her lips and kissed her knuckles.“We will provide them with the best housing. The best clothes, straight from the Dupain-Cheng portfolio. Yes?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yuh-yes?” the young designer stammered.</p><p> </p><p>“We will provide the best teachers, and the best schooling, to ensure they grow up wise and decent.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes.” Marinette’s voice grew in confidence, allowing the dream to sweep her away.</p><p> </p><p>“The best food, and the best medicine…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!”</p><p> </p><p>“And of course…” Kagami turned towards Adrien. “...the best genetics.”</p><p> </p><p>Rose gasped, Alya whooped, and Doo Ri chuckled. But poor sweet Marinette, and poor naive Adrien, were confused. </p><p> </p><p>Adrien made noises of befuddlement whileMarinette began to babble, as was her wont. “I… guess? I’d want that, of course. Our children should be smart, healthy, and beautiful. But genes aren’t exactly something you can pick and choose, unless you - <em> oh my god you want to have Adrigamis.” </em></p><p> </p><p>Kagami returned her smile to Marinette’s direction. </p><p> </p><p>“I want <em> us </em>to have Adrigamis... and Adrinettes.”</p><p> </p><p>The group of young adults erupted into a raucous din. Several voices talked at once, including that of the increasingly flustered supermodel. But Marinette was louder than any of them. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god. Alya! Alya! Alya! Alya!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wha-a-a-a-a-a-t?” Alya’s wobbly voice painted a vivid picture of Marinette grabbing her by the collar and shaking. </p><p> </p><p>“Alya! Alya! Alya!” Marinette inhaled. “Kagami and I are going to have the most <em> beautiful </em>children!”</p><p> </p><p>Then, Marinette flopped backwards, landing her head on Kagami’s lap and dissolving into a puddle of dreamy, insensate goo.</p><p> </p><p>Kagami stroked her hair, earning a pleased murmur from the back of her throat, and then moved to face Adrien once again.</p><p> </p><p>“I… I don’t know what to say,” he said, choked up with an emotion that Kagami could not read. </p><p> </p><p>The burden of the first response was taken by his best friend.  “Dude,” said Nino. “Two hot chicks just asked you to be their baby-daddy. If you don’t say ‘yes,’ I’m gonna have to confiscate your bro-card.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you for the advice, Nino,” Kagami said, bemused. Alya elbowed Nino in the ribs before he could say ‘you’re welcome.’ </p><p> </p><p>“But he should <em> not </em>say yes. Nor should he say no. It’s too early for a promise in either direction.” Kagami turned her unseeing gaze back to Adrien, her face a tranquil mask.  “As I said, we are sharing dreams, not making commitments. Children are years and years away. I’m only bringing this up now to make something clear: you’re special, Adrien, both to Marinette and to me. The future we build together will be built with a place for you in it. That is, if you want one.”</p><p> </p><p>“I…” Adrien tried, and failed, to find words. “I… don’t know... how do I…”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude, are you <em> crying </em> ? Ow, Alya, knock it off! I’m not <em> teasing </em> him for this, I think it’s <em> awesome </em>that they all mean so much to each other!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” said Rose. Her voice was elevated; she had stood upon the bench. Her milkshake glass chimed when she struck it with her spoon. </p><p> </p><p>“All this talk of things down the line means it's time for a toast!” Rose waited for the assembled teens to make some general rumblings of assent, then continued. “I loved the way Kagami put it. We’re building a future. It takes work, and we have setbacks. Some of them hurt. Sometimes, people… people who ought to love us… don’t want to be part of what we’re making…”</p><p> </p><p>“Rosie,” Juleka whispered.</p><p> </p><p>Rose banished her ghosts. “But we are still here, and we are with friends and loved ones. We lift ourselves up when we fall, we push onwards, and we keep on building on the good things. We build and build and build, until we’ve made our own futures. So… that’s my toast. To us. To the future!”</p><p> </p><p>“To the future!” Alya, Doo Ri, and Juleka cried.</p><p> </p><p>“To the future, dudes!” Nino said in his own way.</p><p> </p><p>Adrien hesitated, but his friends' enthusiasm carried him along in the end. “To the future!” he said, and Kagami heard him steal her water glass to join in the toast.</p><p> </p><p>Marinette was still in dreamland, oblivious to the world. “Emiko, Hiro, Louis? Your mommies are going whitewater rafting, but don’t worry, you’re staying with Uncle Adrien until we get back!”</p><p> </p><p>Kagami held back most of her smile, because if she let out all her emotions at once, she’d have been stuck laughing and crying for hours on end. Instead, she lifted her milkshake glass, and counted six clinks--one for each friend. Then, she raised it above her head, and toasted:</p><p> </p><p>“To the future.”</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And... that's that. Ending a story is always bittersweet, but I'm proud of where this story took me and I'm thankful for all the readers who came on the journey as well.</p><p>Thanks to Itookyourpen and tog84 for their insight into the chapter, helping to polish it into a worthy conclusion to the series.</p><p>Thanks to Chimpukampu for a very quick turnaround on my art commission. It turned out spectacular!</p><p>Expect one more post in this series, with some thoughts and analysis on what I was trying to accomplish and how well I think I succeeded. If you have questions you'd like me to answer as part of that, feel free to ask in the comments. But, to answer the inevitable most frequently-asked question: I have inklings of a sequel, but if I decide to write it, it won't be until after the release of Season 4 of MLB. the S3 epilogue was... less than thrilling... and I want to reassurances before I get too heavily reinvested in the fandom.</p><p>Regardless, I have a few more MLB exchange fics left in me, and then who knows where the muse will carry me. I hope you're coming along for the ride!</p><p>Best,</p><p>Reye</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>